Dubai (UAE) visa for Nepali

Do Nepali citizens need a visa for Dubai?

Yes. Nepali passport holders need a UAE visa issued before they fly to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or any other emirate. Nepali citizens cannot enter the UAE without a visa and are not on its visa on arrival list, so you cannot get a visa at Dubai airport. Airlines in Kathmandu check your approved visa at check-in and will not board you without it.

There is no embassy visa sticker to collect. A UAE tourist visa is an electronic entry permit, issued by the UAE immigration authorities when a UAE sponsor applies for you. Once it is approved you receive it by email, print it, and show it with your passport. One UAE visa covers all seven emirates.

UAE visa types for Nepali travellers

Most Nepali holiday-makers use the 30-day single-entry tourist visa. The 60-day visa suits longer family visits, and the multiple-entry versions suit people who will leave and come back, for example a side trip to Oman. If you only change planes in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, a transit visa or no visa at all may be enough.

The UAE also offers a 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa with stricter bank balance rules. It rarely suits a first trip; ask us if you travel to the UAE several times a year.

Is the UAE visit visa open for Nepalis now?

Yes, at our last check in November 2026. The UAE stopped issuing new visit visas to Nepali citizens for a period from mid-September 2025, after the Gen Z protests in Kathmandu. It reopened applications in late November 2025 with one extra rule: every Nepali applicant must submit a police clearance report from Nepal Police. Nepali agencies and UAE sponsors were still asking for it in October and November 2026.

The UAE has changed rules for Nepali applicants at short notice before, so our visa desk confirms the current position before you pay for anything that cannot be refunded.

Documents you need

• A passport valid for at least 6 months from your travel date, with a clear colour scan of the photo page.
• A recent colour photo on a white background, face straight, no glasses or cap.
• A police clearance report from Nepal Police, applied for online. It is normally ready in 2 to 3 working days. It then needs attestation by Nepal's Department of Consular Services, which usually takes about one more working day. Some sponsors also ask for UAE Embassy attestation; we tell you if yours does.
• A return or onward air ticket booking.
• A hotel booking, or the address of the relative you will stay with.
• Medical insurance valid in the UAE for your whole stay. It is a condition of the tourist visa.
• A recent bank statement, if the sponsor asks for one. We tell you the amount that sponsor expects.

Keep the spelling of your name, date of birth and passport number exactly the same on the police report, the visa form and your air ticket. A mismatch is a common reason for a held application.

How to apply, step by step

1. Tell us your travel dates and send a scan of your passport and a photo.
2. Apply for your Nepal Police clearance report online. We guide you through the form.
3. Get the report attested by the Department of Consular Services. We tell you if UAE Embassy attestation is needed too.
4. We check every document and submit the application through our UAE sponsor.
5. You receive the approved e-visa by email, usually within a few working days of submission.
6. Print the visa and carry it with your passport, return ticket and hotel booking.

Allow about three weeks from start to finish, and longer around Dashain, Tihar, Christmas and New Year, when demand is highest. Apply only after your travel dates are fixed, because the visa must be used within its validity window.

How long can you stay, and can you extend?

A 30-day or 60-day tourist visa counts from the day you enter the UAE. Inside the UAE, a tourist visa can be extended through the sponsor, more than once, but the total stay cannot go over 120 days. An extension costs extra, so ask us before your visa ends rather than after.

Overstaying is expensive. The fine is AED 50 for each day you stay past your visa, and it must be paid before you can leave the country. A long overstay can also lead to a ban on returning.

Transit through Dubai or Abu Dhabi

If you stay inside the airport between flights on one ticket, you usually do not need a UAE visa. If you want to leave the airport, a UAE airline can arrange a 48-hour or a 96-hour transit visa when you book. You need an onward ticket to a third country, and a passport valid for at least 3 months (48 hours) or 6 months (96 hours). Transit visas cannot be extended or changed into a tourist visa. Ask the airline to confirm the rule for Nepali passports before you book a stopover.

Medicines and health rules

Carry your medicines in their original packs with a recent prescription. Some medicines that are sold over the counter in Nepal are controlled in the UAE, including some strong painkillers, sleeping tablets, anxiety medicines and ADHD medicines. For a controlled medicine, apply online for a permit from the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) before you travel. You need a prescription issued within the last 3 months and a medical report issued within the last year, both stamped by your hospital or clinic, and you may bring no more than 3 months' supply. If you are unsure about a medicine, send us its name before you fly.

No vaccination certificate is needed to enter the UAE from Nepal. A yellow fever certificate is asked for only if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk, such as parts of Africa or South America.

Bringing family to the UAE if you live there

If you live and work in the UAE, you can sponsor your relatives on a visit visa yourself. Since late 2025 the UAE sets a minimum monthly salary for the sponsor: AED 4,000 for close family such as parents, spouse and children, AED 8,000 for other relatives such as grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, and AED 15,000 for friends. You need proof of the relationship, and your relatives need the same Nepal Police clearance report as other Nepali applicants.

To bring your spouse and children to live with you on a residence visa, the usual rule is a salary of at least AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with accommodation provided. We can help with the visit visa route and with the travel plans for parents coming from Nepal.

At the airport in Kathmandu and in Dubai

Nepal's immigration desk at Tribhuvan International Airport checks visit-visa travellers to the Gulf closely, because visit visas have been misused to go abroad for work. Carry a printed copy of your UAE visa, your return ticket, your hotel or package confirmation and proof of your job, business or studies in Nepal. There is no arrival card to fill in for the UAE. At Dubai airport, immigration checks your passport and printed visa.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Booking non-refundable flights or hotels before the visa is approved.
• Leaving the police clearance report and its attestation to the last week.
• Names or dates that differ between the passport, police report and ticket.
• Expecting a visa on arrival at Dubai airport. Nepali passports do not get one.
• Travelling with medicines that are controlled in the UAE without a permit.
• Staying even one day past the visa end date.

Tips for the Nepali diaspora and NRNs

If you hold a Nepali passport and live abroad, you need the same UAE visa before you fly. A US green card or a UK or EU residence permit does not give a Nepali passport holder a visa on arrival; that option is only for certain nationalities. If you live in another Gulf country, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman, you may be able to apply online for the UAE's 30-day e-visa for GCC residents, depending on your residence permit; ask us to check. If your family flies from Kathmandu and you join from abroad, each traveller needs their own visa with matching dates.

Planning the whole trip?

Gomayu arranges the UAE visa for Nepali passport holders together with flights, hotels and tours. See our Dubai tour packages and travel guide for the best time to visit, the main sights and costs from Kathmandu, or read our Dubai trip cost from Nepal and Dubai airport guide. Message us for a document check before you apply.