Visa and entry to Dubai: passport, children, medication and customs

The visa: a rule that depends on nationality

For a holiday, a visa-exempt traveller has nothing to arrange before leaving. On arrival, at airport passport control, the officer stamps your passport with permission to stay for up to 90 days, in one or several visits, within a 180-day period. According to Emirates, which publishes the list of eligible countries, the stamp is a multiple-entry visa. It does not allow you to work, even unpaid.

The accepted document and the visa depend on nationality:

For a nationality not on the Emirates list or a non-tourist stay, the UAE embassies can advise.

Entry checks include a biometric iris scan, both on arrival and on departure. Border police retain full discretion to refuse entry: travellers have been sent back to their point of departure with no reason given, no right of appeal and no refund of their costs.

The passport: six months' validity and a few pitfalls

Validity. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months on the date you enter the UAE. Otherwise entry is refused. For a simple transit without passing through passport control, 3 months' validity on the date of transit is required.

The right document. Only an ordinary passport is safe:

• national ID cards are not accepted;
• emergency and temporary passports may be refused, depending on nationality: the entry requirements table above gives the rule for your country;
• a passport reported lost or stolen, even if later found, leads to refusal of entry.

Passport details. Since December 2023, the UAE has refused passports that do not show a full date of birth in day, month, year format. A passport with Xs in place of the surname, first name or date of birth may also be refused, and only passports with an "M" or "F" sex marker are admitted. The passport must be in good condition.

Dual nationals. You must leave the UAE on the document you used to enter.

During your stay. It is best to keep your passport in the hotel safe and carry a copy, including the page with the entry stamp.

Travelling with children

Each child travels on their own passport, which must also be valid for 6 months on entry. The documents accepted for a child depend on their nationality: the entry requirements table above gives the rule for your country.

Minors under 18 may only enter accompanied by a parent or guardian. When a child travels with only one parent, written consent from the other parent is recommended; the documents required for a minor depend on their country. Before you leave, check France Diplomatiediplomatie.belgium.beDFAE (eda.admin.ch)mae.gouvernement.luGOV.UK (FCDO)ireland.ie (DFA)Auswärtiges AmtRegeringen (UD)Udenrigsministeriet (um.dk)RegjeringenOdyseusz (MSZ)MZV ČRBMEIANederland WereldwijdViaggiare Sicuriexteriores.gob.esPortal das ComunidadesUlkoministeriö (um.fi). A child at the centre of a custody dispute can be prevented from leaving the UAE.

No vaccination is required when arriving from Europe. A yellow fever certificate is only required, from the age of 9 months, for travellers arriving from a country where the disease is present.

Medication: approval needed for some treatments

The UAE classifies as narcotics or controlled substances some medicines sold over the counter or on prescription in Europe, including medicines containing codeine.

• Controlled medicines (narcotic, psychotropic, controlled or semi-controlled) need prior approval from the UAE Ministry of Health, applied for online before you travel. Applications are processed in about 5 working days; without proof of approval, the medicine is confiscated and you may be prosecuted.
• Quantities are limited: up to 3 months' supply for a visitor, and only one month for a medicine on the list requiring approval.
• Packaging and paperwork: original packaging, a prescription giving the medicines' INN (International Nonproprietary Name, the name of the active substance), and preferably a medical certificate in English.
• Transit: a traveller who is only changing planes, without passing through passport control, does not need approval. Transit passengers' baggage is still screened.

Methadone and treatments for mental health conditions are also among the products subject to special rules. If in doubt, the UAE embassy or the UAE Ministry of Health can advise before departure.

Drugs and CBD: zero tolerance

Possession of even the smallest amount of drugs is severely punished, and the presence of drugs in the bloodstream counts as possession, even if they were taken before arrival. CBD oil, hemp-flavoured food, some skincare products and some e-cigarette refills containing CBD are treated as drugs. Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports use advanced detection technology, including on transit baggage, and travellers in transit have been arrested.

Customs

Each traveller aged 18 or over may bring in:

• 4 litres of alcohol, or two cases of 24 beers of up to 355 ml;
• 400 cigarettes worth no more than AED 2,000, or other tobacco products worth up to AED 3,000.

Cash, jewellery, precious stones or goods worth more than AED 60,000 must be declared in advance online on the AFSEH customs platform, on entry and on departure.

Banned or restricted items include:

• pork products and pornography, a notion that can extend to a magazine cover considered too revealing;
• weapons and any related equipment, including ammunition, body armour and gun belts, without permission from customs and the Ministry of Defence;
• drones, whose use always requires prior approval from the authorities.

Books, films and audio or video media may be censored, and phones, tablets and USB sticks may be checked. The full list of prohibited and restricted goods is published by Dubai Customs. Pets must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies; the UAE embassy can give the other conditions.

During your stay and on departure

• Overstaying the 90 days leads to a fine for each extra day, and to deportation for a long overstay. Extensions are handled in Dubai by the GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs).
• An ongoing legal dispute, a debt or a complaint can lead to a travel ban, sometimes for several months.
• An Israeli stamp in your passport is no obstacle for a tourist stay.

Rules for daily life, from alcohol to dress, are gathered in the guide Alcohol, dress and rules of conduct. The guide Dubai and the regional situation gives your own government's security advice, and the Dubai page presents the destination.