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Home / Blog / Practical Steps to Resolve Visa Overstays in the UAE
Practical Steps to Resolve Visa Overstays in the UAE Man sitting in a waiting area looking concerned about visa overstay issues

Practical Steps to Resolve Visa Overstays in the UAE

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Written By Arabiers Digital & Reviewed by Robeena Brown

22 January 2026 | 13 min read

Once you find out that you have overstayed your UAE tourist visa it can be worrying moment. This is because you might be worried about fines, travel bans or other potential legal issues you might be subjected to by the authorities. 

Despite the fact that the UAE authorities are strict, they are also procedural and they have put in place clear mechanisms to resolve the issues of visa overstay. You can extend stay in UAE without attracting fines by seeking legal extension of visa.

Once you find yourself in this situation it is important to first understand the actual issue you are having. In law, ignorance cannot be excused and this cannot be an excuse before the immigration laws of UAE. 

There are set penalties for overstaying and they increase every day you overstay.  According to the current immigration laws on visa there is AED 50 daily penalty for every day overstayed and that mean overstaying for 10 days is equivalent to AED 500 in fines.

It is crucial to note that prolonged or unresolved overstays can lead to more severe complications such as travel bans which can lead to preventing you from exiting the country until you are cleared of all the existing fines and penalties. You might also be subjected to blocklisting or entry ban for breach of visa rules by overstaying. 

This mean that you will not be allowed to enter UAE for a specific period or for good. It is therefore advisable to always take the appropriate action once you have overstayed to avoid making the situation more complex and expensive.
 

What should you do once you realize you have Overstayed?

  • Remain Calm and verify- ensure that you countercheck your visa expiry date against the current date. Once you have verified that you have stayed you can access the UAE smart services website so as to verify the status of your visa and the fines and penalties associated with your passport number. 
  • Ensure that you do not try to hide or escape from the country because the United Arab Emirates has all its system integrated and your status will be flagged in all exit points be it on land borders or airports and other government service providers.
  • Make your mind on what action you want to take going forward. You might opt to clear all your fines and penalties and exit the country or decide to stay longer and explore other options to regularize your status if any.
  • Once you have decided which step to take ensure that you have all your important document ready and in order.  Have your passport with you, the copy of the expired visa and the mean so payment such as credit card ready to pay the fines.
     

Paying the fines and Exiting the Country

  1. If you wish to clear and exit the country you will begin by calculating and preparing the payable fines. You can use the calculator on the Federal Authority for Identify, Citizenship, customs and Security website on the GDRFA for the emirates you are in to get the exact amount of fines that you owe the authorities.
  2. Once you have the figure you can proceed to any exit station be it a land border or airport and clearly explain that   you have overstayed your visa and you wish to pay the fines and exit the country. The officers will check from the system, calculate the final amount and issue a payment slip. Make sure you arrive at the station early enough before your flight so as to have enough time for the process.
  3. Once you have been issued with the slip take it to the designated bank counter or payment kiosk and pay the total amount. Once you have made the payment keep the payment receipt and m you can use cash or card to make your payment.
  4. The next step is to return the payment receipt to the immigration officer to confirm. Once it is confirmed the officer will cancel your expired visa and stamp your passport for exit.  After that you are now free to proceed with the airline checking and security.

Regularizing Your Status from Within the UAE

Depending on your case there are some circumstances where you can be able to resolve your tourist visa overstay without having to leave the country and even be able to get a new visa.  However, this is not guaranteed as it depends with the circumstances and eligibility.

The first option is applying for visa extension even with visa overstay. This is difficult considering that you have already the visa extension on the official portal will be blocked once you have overstayed. However, all is not done as you can visit the official Amer Center in Dubai in person.

Once you get there ensure that you clearly explain your situation and they may be able to manually submit your request to the immigration authorities for you to pay the fines and process the visa extension. This methos might be rejected and therefore you should be ready to revert to the initial process of exiting.

Proactive measures to prevent Visa Expiry

Ensure that you have marked your visa expiry date in your calendar and set multiple reminders before and on the actual expiring date so as to be aware of the expiry.

Always use the immigration portal to check your visa status online on weekly basis as the expiry approaches.

If you are planning to stay longer with the tourist visa ensure that you apply for the visa extension early enough to allow the processing and avoid any overstaying complexities and fines.

Ensure that you understand the visa you are holding. If you are having a 30 days tourist visa ensure that you are aware and when it becomes active and expiry and other details such as whether it can be extended or not.