Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) on 1 February 2026 unveiled a fast-track passport-control service that lets pre-registered travellers clear immigration in as little as five seconds. The system combines face- and iris-recognition cameras across 122 smart gates at all terminals of Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central. (gdrfad.gov.ae)
Passengers enrol once—either through the GDRFA app or at airport kiosks—after which their biometric template replaces the need for passports or boarding-pass scans at departure and arrival. Emirates Airline COO Adel Al Redha said the upgrade would boost DXB’s hourly throughput by 30 % ahead of the Easter travel surge.
For business travellers, the change means shorter minimum-connection times and faster transit between back-to-back meetings in Riyadh or Doha. Frequent-flyer programmes are already embedding the biometric ID into their lounge-access systems, while hotel chains are exploring direct interfaces for check-in.
![Dubai rolls out 122 biometric smart gates, cutting passport control to five seconds]()
Even with frictionless gates, travellers still need the right entry authorisation. VisaHQ’s dedicated UAE portal streamlines everything from short-stay tourist visas to multi-year business permits, letting visitors submit paperwork online, track status in real time and receive approvals electronically long before take-off. Details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
The rollout underscores the UAE’s border-innovation race with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which are trialling contactless corridors ahead of the 2030 Riyadh Expo. Privacy advocates note that the UAE lacks a standalone data-protection law for border biometrics, though officials insist information is encrypted and stored onshore.
Mobility managers should update pre-trip briefings: travellers who decline biometric enrolment will be diverted to manual counters, where peak-hour waits can top 45 minutes. Companies whose crews rotate frequently through Dubai may want to organise bulk registration sessions to avoid delays.
Passengers enrol once—either through the GDRFA app or at airport kiosks—after which their biometric template replaces the need for passports or boarding-pass scans at departure and arrival. Emirates Airline COO Adel Al Redha said the upgrade would boost DXB’s hourly throughput by 30 % ahead of the Easter travel surge.
For business travellers, the change means shorter minimum-connection times and faster transit between back-to-back meetings in Riyadh or Doha. Frequent-flyer programmes are already embedding the biometric ID into their lounge-access systems, while hotel chains are exploring direct interfaces for check-in.
Even with frictionless gates, travellers still need the right entry authorisation. VisaHQ’s dedicated UAE portal streamlines everything from short-stay tourist visas to multi-year business permits, letting visitors submit paperwork online, track status in real time and receive approvals electronically long before take-off. Details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
The rollout underscores the UAE’s border-innovation race with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which are trialling contactless corridors ahead of the 2030 Riyadh Expo. Privacy advocates note that the UAE lacks a standalone data-protection law for border biometrics, though officials insist information is encrypted and stored onshore.
Mobility managers should update pre-trip briefings: travellers who decline biometric enrolment will be diverted to manual counters, where peak-hour waits can top 45 minutes. Companies whose crews rotate frequently through Dubai may want to organise bulk registration sessions to avoid delays.
