UAE announces new 2025 visa policy for 107 countries

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued its new 2025 visa policy, where nationals of 107 countries will need to acquire a visa before entry into the country.

The UAE, known for its fast development, tourism, and connectivity to the world, has now embraced a plan to create a balance between security and hospitality through this policy revision.

The new list includes a number of countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas to which the new visa requirements will be applied.

The latest list includes several countries in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

Prominent among these countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Turkey, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Palau, Samoa and Tuvalu.

The latest UAE visa list is in line with the country’s orderly immigration policy, which ensures security and travel requirements are put in place before foreign visitors’ arrival.

Temporary ban on tourist and work visas to nine countries:

In addition to the new visa list, the UAE has also placed a temporary ban on tourist and work visas for nine countries. They include Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, Liberia, the Republic of Benin, Congo, and Burundi.

The prohibition shall extend to both tourist as well as work visas, though in accordance with the UAE authorities, the same is a short-term measure that can be altered in the future following a policy review.

The following procedures have been laid down for nationals of visa-required countries:

• Apply in advance via UAE embassies or designated visa centers.
• Passport validity should be six months or more.
• Be cautious when dealing with agents who promise instant approval because instances of visa fraud have been noted to rise.
• Monitor official Emirati sources to stay up to date with any new developments in visa policy.

Aims of the visa update:

The UAE’s new policy 2025 visa is a move to strike a balance between the nation’s security and economic growth. This step has been taken to minimize fraud, make the visa approval process transparent, and verify the data of visitors accurately.

Being a global business and tourism hub, millions of individuals travel to the UAE annually for work, business, and leisure, and the new visa policy has been launched in this respect to streamline the process.