Dubai extends tourist visas free for a month

Our Correspondent

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has announced that tourists in the UAE will have their visas extended for one month free of charge.

The move, which applies to all nationalities, is to help tourists who may not be able to fly back to their home country because of the closure of some airports abroad on account of a new strain of the coronavirus that is more deadly.

The UAE has cautiously reopened to tourists in recent months. Dubai was reopened in July with stringent safety measures while capital Abu Dhabi has started welcoming international tourists from December 24.

A negative PCR test result, received within 96 hours from the scheduled flight departure time, is required to enter Dubai for tourists from all but six countries. Visitors from some countries will be tested again on arrival.

Travellers to the capital need to present a negative PCR test result received within 96 hours of scheduled departure, and undergo a second PCR test upon landing in Abu Dhabi.

Travellers from countries on the green list – Australia, Brunei, China, Greece, Greenland, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Vietnam – must self-isolate until they receive a negative result from the PCR test taken on landing.