With year-end traffic peaking, an updated explainer published on 6 December details how travellers can leverage the UAE’s 96-Hour Transit Visa to turn long layovers into mini-breaks. The article, timed for the busy festive season, reiterates that passengers with connections longer than eight hours on any UAE carrier can apply for the four-day visa online or through airline partners. Processing takes as little as four hours and costs about US $135.
For mobility managers the visa is a cost-effective perk that can ease jet-lag on multi-sector business itineraries or allow relocating staff to complete house-hunting before their residence permit is issued. Applicants must hold passports valid for six months and onward tickets to a third country. Visa validity is 30 days from issuance, giving planners flexibility if flight dates shift.
![New guidance clarifies rules for 96-Hour UAE Transit Visa amid holiday surge]()
Dubai Tourism expects transit-visitor numbers to jump 15 % this winter as airlines restore super-connector schedules. Retail and hospitality operators have rolled out 72-hour hotel bundles and fast-track city tours tailored to stopover guests. Companies should remind employees that overstays incur a Dh200 fine for the first day and Dh100 per subsequent day plus exit permit fees.
The guide also clarifies that travellers eligible for 90-day visa-on-arrival (EU, US, UK, etc.) do not need the transit visa, while GCC residents of any nationality remain entitled to electronic entry permits on a separate platform.
For mobility managers the visa is a cost-effective perk that can ease jet-lag on multi-sector business itineraries or allow relocating staff to complete house-hunting before their residence permit is issued. Applicants must hold passports valid for six months and onward tickets to a third country. Visa validity is 30 days from issuance, giving planners flexibility if flight dates shift.
Dubai Tourism expects transit-visitor numbers to jump 15 % this winter as airlines restore super-connector schedules. Retail and hospitality operators have rolled out 72-hour hotel bundles and fast-track city tours tailored to stopover guests. Companies should remind employees that overstays incur a Dh200 fine for the first day and Dh100 per subsequent day plus exit permit fees.
The guide also clarifies that travellers eligible for 90-day visa-on-arrival (EU, US, UK, etc.) do not need the transit visa, while GCC residents of any nationality remain entitled to electronic entry permits on a separate platform.
