UAE visa for Arab nationals 2026: current status

By Hamza Maghrabi · Sources last checked 2026-09-09

This page covers holders of Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Djibouti and Comoros passports. The UAE position is the same for all of them and there is no documented difference between them in the entry rules, which is why this is one page rather than nine identical ones. If a measure lands that applies to one of them specifically, it gets its own page.

Is there a visa on arrival?

As of the Khaleej Times list published 27 June 2026, no Arab nationality outside the GCC appears on any UAE visa-free or visa-on-arrival list. Visa-free access covers 49 countries for 90 days and 13 for 30 days, and visa on arrival is limited to seven nationalities who additionally hold a residence permit from an approved country. That means an entry permit arranged in advance is the route for every Arab passport other than the GCC five.

What you actually need

• A valid Arab nationalities passport. Passports must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into the UAE.
• A sponsor to file the entry permit application for you.
• For an employment visa specifically: Applicants for a UAE employment visa must obtain a good conduct certificate (police clearance certificate) issued by their country of nationality or the country they lived in for the last five years, attested by a UAE diplomatic mission or by MOFAIC.

Who can sponsor your entry permit

You cannot file for an entry permit yourself from abroad. An approved sponsor has to apply on your behalf. These are the usual routes:

• An employer for a work visa, the only route that ends in residence.
• A hotel or tourism establishment for a short visit visa.
• An airline as part of a booking.
• A licensed travel agent inside the UAE.
• A resident first-degree relative for a family visit visa.

Be wary of intermediaries promising a "guaranteed" visa for a fee paid up front. Approval rests with the ICP or with the GDRFA of the relevant emirate, and no agent can guarantee it.

Status by nationality

The rule is identical for every nationality here: no visa on arrival, entry by advance permit filed by a sponsor. The last column shows where an unverified claim is circulating that no authority has confirmed.

Notes by nationality

Egypt

Egyptian passport holders are not eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, so an entry permit has to be arranged before travel rather than on landing. Travel publisher Wego reports the government fee as AED 200 for a 30-day permit and AED 300 for 60 days, typically issued within 48 hours. We have not been able to confirm those figures against an ICP or GDRFA published tariff, so treat them as indicative and check with your sponsor before paying anyone.

Egypt appears on reported lists of nationalities asked for a good conduct certificate on new entry permits. The certificate is issued by the Egyptian authorities and attested before the UAE application is filed.

Iraq

There is a real UAE measure involving Iraq, and it runs the opposite way from what people assume. On 30 April 2026 the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs barred its own citizens from travelling to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, citing "current regional developments", and told Emiratis already there to "expedite their immediate return to the UAE". That applied to Emiratis leaving the UAE. It said nothing about Iraqi nationals entering it.

The Lebanon element of that decision was lifted from 29 June 2026. We have found no announcement lifting it for Iraq, so as far as we can verify the restriction on Emiratis travelling to Iraq still stands. If you are an Iraqi passport holder applying for a UAE entry permit, none of this affects your application either way.

Sudan

Where the confusion most likely starts. The United States has suspended visa issuance to nationals of Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. That is a US restriction, decided in Washington, and it has no bearing on whether the UAE issues you a visa. Four of the nine countries in the circulating "UAE ban" list are exactly these four, which is a strong sign the list is a US measure that has been re-labelled as an Emirati one somewhere along the way.

Sudan is not South Sudan. The one UAE visa suspension that is officially confirmed covers the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. South Sudan has been a separate country from Sudan since 2011. Coverage in both Arabic and English routinely collapses the two, and a Sudanese passport holder reading that a "Sudan" suspension exists is usually reading about South Sudan.

Lebanon

There was a real UAE travel ban involving Lebanon, and it ran the other way. On 30 April 2026 the UAE barred its own citizens from travelling to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. That restriction applied to Emiratis leaving the UAE, not to Lebanese nationals entering it. It was lifted from 29 June 2026, with Emiratis required to register on Twajudi, the UAE emergency registration service, before departing.

This is almost certainly what people are half-remembering when they say the UAE has "restrictions on Lebanon". A Lebanese passport holder applying for a UAE entry permit was never the subject of that measure. The UAE is home to roughly 90,000 Lebanese citizens, closer to 200,000 counting dual nationals, and that population was not affected.

Worth knowing: this ban has been imposed and lifted more than once. An earlier one ran from 2021 to 2025. Check current Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidance rather than an old article, in either direction.

Yemen, Libya and Somalia

Where the confusion most likely starts. The United States has suspended visa issuance to nationals of Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. That is a US restriction, decided in Washington, and it has no bearing on whether the UAE issues you a visa. Four of the nine countries in the circulating "UAE ban" list are exactly these four, which is a strong sign the list is a US measure that has been re-labelled as an Emirati one somewhere along the way.

Entry permit and residence are not the same document

Confusing the two is what gets people into trouble. An entry permit lets you into the country for a fixed period and nothing more. Residence is a separate document issued after you arrive, requiring a medical test, an Emirates ID and a registered employment contract. Letting an entry permit lapse without converting it to residence is an overstay, and it carries a daily fine.

If you already live in the UAE

Most questions we get are not about getting in. They are about what happens next: what becomes of your residence when you leave a job, how long the grace period runs, and how gratuity is calculated before you go. None of that changes with nationality.

• Visa cancellation rules and the grace period
• End-of-service gratuity calculator
• UAE labour law

This page is general information, not legal advice and not a visa service. The decision in any individual case rests with the ICP or with the GDRFA of the relevant emirate.