Ending years of airport dash-and-return “border runs,” the UAE has confirmed that holders of 30- or 60-day visit visas can now extend their stay entirely online without leaving the country. A circular published late on 4 December and clarified to travel agents on 5–6 December removes the exit-and-re-enter requirement for most tourist, business-visit, medical-treatment and family-visit permits. Applications are filed through the ICP smart portal, the mobile app or Amer service centres; once approved, the same e-visa is re-validated, with no new entry stamp required.
The reform also standardises extension fees at AED 600 plus VAT and introduces real-time status tracking. Crucially, Dubai’s 10-day grace period has been abolished: overstay fines of AED 50 per day now start the moment a visa expires, bringing Dubai in line with the other six emirates. Mobility managers should therefore diarise expiry dates carefully; any extension request filed after the visa lapses will incur both the fine and a service surcharge.
![UAE scraps ‘visa-run’ rule, lets tourists and business visitors renew short-term visas online]()
Business impact is immediate. Regional sales teams can keep staff in the UAE for follow-up meetings, conference organisers can hold speakers on-site through wrap-up days, and hotels anticipate longer average stays during the peak winter season. The change also eliminates the cost and downtime of “visa-run” flights to Oman or Bahrain—an expense that could top AED 1,500 per traveller once airfare, transport and lost productivity were factored in.
Practical guidance: passports must have six months’ validity; travellers should submit extension requests at least five working days before expiry. Free-zone-sponsored entry permits, mission visas and some special-purpose categories remain excluded. HR teams should update mobility policies to reflect the zero-grace-period rule and brief travellers on the new overstay penalties.
The reform also standardises extension fees at AED 600 plus VAT and introduces real-time status tracking. Crucially, Dubai’s 10-day grace period has been abolished: overstay fines of AED 50 per day now start the moment a visa expires, bringing Dubai in line with the other six emirates. Mobility managers should therefore diarise expiry dates carefully; any extension request filed after the visa lapses will incur both the fine and a service surcharge.
Business impact is immediate. Regional sales teams can keep staff in the UAE for follow-up meetings, conference organisers can hold speakers on-site through wrap-up days, and hotels anticipate longer average stays during the peak winter season. The change also eliminates the cost and downtime of “visa-run” flights to Oman or Bahrain—an expense that could top AED 1,500 per traveller once airfare, transport and lost productivity were factored in.
Practical guidance: passports must have six months’ validity; travellers should submit extension requests at least five working days before expiry. Free-zone-sponsored entry permits, mission visas and some special-purpose categories remain excluded. HR teams should update mobility policies to reflect the zero-grace-period rule and brief travellers on the new overstay penalties.
