Lieutenant General Sheikh Safe Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, issued Decree No. 418 of 11/7/2012, which amends the Code of Entry and Stay of Foreigners in the United Arab Emirates.
In accordance with the decree, cruise tourists can obtain a multiple visa (Multiple Tourist Visa) for a period of three months and stay in the country for 14 days continuously. Previously, they could only get a single tourist visa. Also, now businessmen, property owners in the UAE and their families can get multiple entry visas. For all other categories of foreign citizens, the rules for obtaining visas remained the same. This measure was aimed at attracting an additional number of tourists, investors and entrepreneurs to the country.
The decree states that foreign businessmen and specialists who deal with the public or private sector in the UAE, requiring frequent visits to the country, have the right to enter the country the required number of times within six months. Similar rules apply to the wives and children of property owners in the UAE. It is worth noting that a number of requirements apply to semi-annual visas. So, businessmen who have received a multiple entry visa for 6 months cannot stay in the country for more than 30 days continuously. If arrivals are owners of real estate, they can enter the country several times during 6 months during the validity period of the visa.
Tourists, as well as travelers departing from cruise ships from the country's ports, can use their entry visa multiple times within three months from the date of its issuance, as well as continuously stay in the UAE for 14 days.
In addition, according to the provisions of the decree, embassy and consular missions of the UAE abroad can also open "special visas" for certain categories of citizens. So, the UAE diplomatic missions can now issue tourist visas without requiring confirmation from the sponsor. Holders of diplomatic passports and UN passports can obtain an entry visa from the UAE's permanent diplomatic missions abroad. Such visas give the right to multiple entry into the country within three months from the date of their opening and allow you to stay in the country continuously for 30 days before the expiration date.
According to Gocha Buachidze, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the adoption of this decree, of course, will entail an increase in passenger and tourist flow from Russia to the UAE. The head of the diplomatic recalled that today, 62 flights are made from Russian cities to Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah alone. At the same time, the Consul General urged all Russian citizens traveling to the country to take care of health insurance before departure, regardless of the length of their stay abroad. New rules come into force from the day of publication.
