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Verified Getting an Egypt visa from Dubai is one of the easier trips to arrange. The visa most foreign-passport UAE residents need is the tourist visit visa, and there are two routes to it: an e-visa applied for online before you fly, or a visa on arrival at Cairo on the strength of a UAE residence valid for at least six months. A single-entry e-visa costs USD 25, about AED 92, and lets you stay up to thirty days. Emirati and other GCC nationals do not need a visa at all.
It comes down to your passport, with one extra door your UAE residence opens. If you hold an Emirati passport, or any other GCC passport, you do not need a visa for a short visit. If you hold most other passports, you need either an e-visa or a visa on arrival. This table shows the split.
| Your passport | What you need | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Emirati or other GCC national | Nothing, visa-free up to 90 days | Free |
| Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Sri Lankan and most others | e-visa online, or visa on arrival on your UAE residence | USD 25 e-visa, USD 30 on arrival |
This guide is for the second group: people living in Dubai on a passport that needs a visa. For most of them, Egypt is unusually easy, because a valid UAE residence is itself a key to entry.
You usually have both options, and the e-visa is the safer one. The e-visa is approved before you fly, so there is no doubt at the airport. The visa on arrival is quick but depends on your residence being accepted at the counter on the day.
Applied for online at the official portal, approved by email before you travel. Open to citizens of around 75 countries. The route we recommend, because you board with the visa already granted.
Granted at Cairo and other airports to anyone holding a UAE, or other GCC, residence valid for at least six months. Fast, but the decision happens at the border rather than in advance.
If your travel dates are firm and your trip matters, apply for the e-visa. Keep the visa on arrival in mind as the backup for last-minute trips, as long as your residence has more than six months left.
A tourist e-visa or visa on arrival covers a short visit of up to thirty days. You can use it to:
It is a visitor permission, not a work or residence permit. Work, study and long stays need a different visa arranged inside Egypt.
You apply and pay entirely online, with no embassy visit.
Apply at least seven days before you travel. The portal is usually quick, often deciding within a few working days, but it is wise to leave room.
An Egypt visa from Dubai comes down to a valid passport, a valid UAE residence, and proof of a genuine short trip. You will need:
The requirements are light compared with visas for the UK, the US or Europe, which is part of what makes Egypt such a popular short break from the UAE.
A single-entry tourist e-visa costs USD 25, about AED 92. You pay in US dollars, so the dirham amount follows the exchange rate on the day. The visa-on-arrival fee rose to USD 30 on 1 March 2026.
| Visa | Fee (USD) | About (AED) | Validity and stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-visa, single entry | USD 25 | AED 92 | Enter within 90 days, stay up to 30 days |
| e-visa, multiple entry | USD 60 | AED 220 | Valid 180 days, 30 days per visit |
| Visa on arrival | USD 30 | AED 110 | Stay up to 30 days |
AED amounts are approximate, at the pegged rate of about 1 USD to 3.67 AED. Fees can change, so check the official portal before you apply.
The e-visa is usually decided within a few working days, and a single-entry visa lets you stay up to thirty days. A single-entry e-visa must be used within ninety days of issue. A multiple-entry e-visa stays valid for one hundred and eighty days, with each visit capped at thirty days. A single-entry tourist visa can usually be extended once inside Egypt at a Passport and Immigration Office, for a fee.
If you hold a UAE residence valid for at least six months, you can get a visa on arrival in Egypt, whatever your nationality. This is the part that matters most for Dubai. Some nationalities, including Indian, Pakistani, Filipino and Sri Lankan passport holders, would normally need a pre-arranged visa to visit Egypt. A valid GCC residence changes that: it lets you be issued a thirty-day visa at the airport instead.
Two conditions decide it at the counter: your passport must be valid for at least six months, and your UAE residence must also have at least six months left on the day you arrive. If your residence is close to expiry, do not rely on this route. Apply for the e-visa instead, or renew your residence first.
A small number of travellers need the consular route rather than the e-visa or visa on arrival. This applies if your nationality is not on the e-visa list, if your UAE residence is too close to expiry for the arrival route, or if you need a visa the online portal does not cover, such as a business visa for longer or paid work. In those cases you apply in person through the Egyptian Consulate General in Dubai, which issues a sticker visa in your passport.
The consulate sets its own documents, fees and appointment process, and these change, so confirm them directly before you go. For most tourists this route is not needed, because the e-visa is faster and simpler.
Egypt is easy, but a few avoidable mistakes turn an easy trip into a refused boarding or a turned-back arrival. The most common is a UAE residence with under six months left, which quietly removes the visa-on-arrival option. The next is assuming the rules follow your residence rather than your passport, when the safe reading is the reverse: your passport sets the route, and your residence only adds the arrival option.
After that come the simple ones: a passport with less than six months of validity, no confirmed return ticket, or no proof of where you are staying. If your passport and residence both have more than six months left, and you hold a return ticket and a hotel booking, you are in good shape.
The route is similar for everyone, but the detail differs by passport. Start with your situation:
Travelling elsewhere too? A UAE residence opens visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to a number of countries. See the full picture on our visa guide hub.
If your passport is e-visa eligible and your documents are in order, an Egypt visa is simple, and you can apply yourself on the official portal. It is worth getting help when:
It depends on your passport. Emirati and other GCC nationals are visa-free for up to ninety days. People on other passports, such as Indian, Pakistani and Filipino nationals, need an e-visa or a visa on arrival.
Yes. A UAE residence visa valid for at least six months lets you get a visa on arrival in Egypt, whatever your passport nationality, for a stay of up to thirty days. If your residence is close to expiry, apply for the e-visa instead.
It is visa-free for GCC nationals, who can enter for up to ninety days. GCC residents who are not GCC nationals still need an e-visa or a visa on arrival, but their UAE residence makes the visa on arrival available to them.
A single-entry tourist e-visa costs USD 25, about AED 92. A multiple-entry e-visa costs USD 60, about AED 220. A visa on arrival costs USD 30 from 1 March 2026.
Yes, if you hold a UAE residence visa valid for at least six months from your arrival date. It is granted at Cairo and other airports and lets you stay up to thirty days, whatever your nationality.
It is usually decided within a few working days. Apply at least seven days before you travel so there is room for any delay.
Up to thirty days on a single-entry e-visa or a visa on arrival. A single-entry visa can usually be extended once inside Egypt for a fee.
The e-visa is safer, because it is approved before you fly and removes any doubt at the airport. The visa on arrival is useful as a backup for last-minute trips, as long as your residence has more than six months left.
A passport valid for at least six months, your UAE residence visa and Emirates ID, a confirmed return ticket, and proof of where you are staying in Egypt.
No. Emirati nationals, like all GCC citizens, enter Egypt visa-free for a short visit of up to ninety days.
Yes. The Egypt visit visa from Dubai is the tourist visa. It covers sightseeing, family visits and short business meetings, with a stay of up to thirty days.
Short business meetings are allowed on the tourist visit visa. A dedicated business visa, for longer or paid work, is arranged through the Egyptian Consulate in Dubai, which sets its own documents and fees.
Don Max Mutuma is the Global Visa Processing Manager at Arabiers Holidays, where he oversees visitor and travel visa applications for Egypt, the UK, Europe and other destinations. He works with applicants across the UAE, Sri Lanka and India. Connect on LinkedIn.
Official source for fees, eligibility and rules: the Government of Egypt e-Visa portal. Fees, the eligible-nationality list and the visa-on-arrival rules can change, so check the official portal before you travel. AED amounts are approximate. This guide is general information, not immigration advice.
