UAE Travelling amid COVID-19

This website contains travel information and necessary procedures for people wishing to leave the UAE and those wishing to enter or transit through the UAE during COVID-19.

Since March 23, 2020, the suspension of commercial passenger flights into and out of the UAE, the UAE allowed repatriation and humanitarian flights to guide expatriate residents in returning to their home countries and transporting Emiratis who were abroad back to the UAE. In addition, cargo aircraft were operating, with additional safety precautions to bring in and send critical goods.

Quarantine guidelines for travelers to the UAE

If you want to enter the UAE, you must have a negative PCR test result. This does not apply to Emiratis arriving at Dubai’s airports. On arrival, certain people may be examined again. You must spend 12 days in isolation if your Covid-19 test results are positive. If you breach the home quarantine laws, you will be fined AED 50,000.

In context to the global Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, UAE public health officials are taking precautions to ensure the safety of United Arab Emirates citizens, residents, and tourists.

International visitors to the UAE must have a negative COVID-19 PCR result before departure and may be forced to a second PCR test and quarantine upon arrival.

Traveling to Abu Dhabi (updated August 18, 2021)

Visitors from the United States who are entirely vaccinated against COVID-19 must be quarantined for seven days beginning August 18, 2021, if the final vaccination dose was provided at least 28 days before departure to Abu Dhabi.

Visitors from green list countries are not needed to quarantine in Abu Dhabi. However, at the moment, the USA is not among the countries on the green list.

Visitors who have not been immunized against COVID-19 and are not from a green list nation, including the United States, must be quarantined for ten days upon arrival in Abu Dhabi.

All visitors to Abu Dhabi must show a negative PCR test result obtained within 72 hours of their scheduled departure date and perform further tests while in Abu Dhabi. Visitors must register for ICA permission before leaving by completing the register arrivals form and submitting an international immunization certificate. Visitors will then get an SMS with a link to the Al Hosn app.

Traveling to Dubai

Americans flying to Dubai must have a negative COVID19 RTPCR test certificate for a test done within 72 hours of their departure.

UAE residents

Subject to the requirements listed below, all travelers with a valid UAE resident visa can travel to Dubai from India, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.

All passengers arriving in Dubai must respect the following:

  • Holders of Dubai visas must seek pre-entry permission via the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).
  • Passengers having a UAE visa sponsored by “Dubai EXPO 2020” are exempt from GDRFA approval.
  • Passengers must have a valid COVID19 test certificate issued within 48 hours of the sample collection date and the scheduled flight departure date. Only COVID19 PCR test reports issued by approved labs with a QR code linked to the original report will be accepted.
  • Before their flight, passengers must take a COVID19 PCR quick test at the departure airport. The Rapid PCR test can be performed 6 hours before departure. (Rapid antigen testing will be rejected.)
  • Passengers arriving in Dubai must take a COVID19 PCR test.

UAE nationals are free from the restrictions above but must undergo a COVID19 PCR test upon arriving in Dubai.

All other travelers who have spent the previous 14 days in India, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Uganda would be denied entry into Dubai.

Specific rules for passengers traveling from Pakistan

In addition to the testing requirement for travelers flying to or via Dubai, all passengers traveling to Dubai from Pakistan need to undergo a COVID19 Rapid PCR test at the departure airport before their booked flight beginning August 27, 2021. Within 6 hours after departure, the Rapid PCR test can be performed.

Passengers on public transportation

Must meet all of their ultimate destination’s criteria and show a negative COVID19 PCR test certificate for a test done 72 hours or fewer before departure or as needed by their final destination.

Passengers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, and Zambia are now permitted to fly to their ultimate destination through Dubai, subject to certain conditions, as of August 5.

All travelers must meet their ultimate destination’s criteria and produce a negative COVID19 PCR Reverse TranscriptionPolymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) test certificate for a test taken 72 hours or fewer before departure as needed by their final destination.

UAE nationals are free from the restrictions mentioned earlier but must undergo a COVID19 PCR test upon arriving in Dubai.

UAE nationals are free from the restrictions mentioned earlier but must undergo a COVID19 PCR test upon arriving in Dubai.

Specific regulations apply to travelers departing from Afghanistan and Indonesia.

Only the following passenger categories will be permitted on flights to Dubai from Afghanistan and Indonesia:

  • Nationals of the UAE and their first-degree relatives
  • Diplomatic Mission Members
  • UAE Golden and Silver Visa holders
  • Officials and travelers who have been exempted or granted permission to enter the UAE by the relevant authorities

Exempted travelers must have a COVID19 PCR test within 48 hours of their departure date. In addition, before departure, passengers from Indonesia must do a COVID19 Rapid Antigen test at the airport.

All travelers who have spent the previous 14 days in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, or Zambia will be denied entry into Dubai.

The United Arab Emirates Govt. has revised its travel policies for Pakistan and five other countries, exempting them from carrying the Covid-19 immunization certificate while traveling into Dubai.

Passengers with a valid UAE resident visa from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda will fly to and through Dubai, according to a travel advisory issued by the national flag airline, Emirates. However, passengers from these countries will be required to get pre-entry clearance from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

Passengers must provide a valid Covid-19 test certificate issued within 48 hours of the sample collection date and scheduled flight departure date.

Only Covid-19 PCR test reports provided by certified labs and accompanied by a QR code that links to the original report will be accepted.

Travelers will also be subjected to a Covid-19 PCR quick test four hours before their trip, which will be repeated upon their arrival in Dubai. The Rapid Antigen Test, it was also said, would not be authorized.

The advice said that UAE nationals were excluded from the new travel advisory, but they would be required to undergo a Covid 19 PCR test upon arrival in Dubai.

All other travelers, except UAE nationals, who have been in Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, or Uganda in the last 14 days, would be denied entry into UAE.

Find below details about quarantine requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors coming to Abu Dhabi from “green” and other countries.

From July 5, 2021, the following quarantine requirements will apply to all visitors to Abu Dhabi, including UAE citizens and residents.

Vaccinated travelers

Vaccinated travelers traveling from “green” nations must have a PCR test upon arrival, followed by another on day six. However, they are not required to quarantine themselves.

Vaccinated travelers traveling from other countries must have a PCR test upon arrival, be quarantined for seven days, and undergo another PCR test on day six.

The process is only applicable to vaccinated UAE nationals and residents who received their second dose at least 28 days before they arrived in the UAE and have this information.

The protocol is only applicable to vaccinated UAE nationals and residents who received their second dose at least 28 days before they arrived in the UAE and have this information registered on the ALHOSN app.

Unvaccinated travelers

Unvaccinated nationals and residents arriving from “green” nations must have a PCR test on arrival, day six and day 12. However, they are not required to quarantine themselves.

Unvaccinated visitors traveling from foreign countries must have a PCR test upon arrival, be quarantined for 12 days, and undergo another PCR test on day 11.

If you are a tourist to the UAE or an expatriate resident of the UAE, you must provide a negative PCR test result at the airport before leaving. This exam should have been finished within 96 hours after departing for Dubai.

Some residents may be tested again when they arrive at Dubai’s airport. If you are needed to undergo another test upon arrival, you must stay in quarantine at your house until the test results are received. If the test results are positive, you must remain isolated and follow the Dubai Health Authority’s recommendations. You do not need to quarantine yourself if the test results are negative.

If you are a UAE citizen, you are exempt from the PCR test before departure, regardless of the location or nation from which you are traveling. You will, however, be examined upon arrival in Dubai.

If you are a tourist to the UAE or an expatriate resident of the UAE, you must produce a negative PCR test result at the departure airport. This test should have been completed 72 hours before traveling to Sharjah. This is under the guidelines that were announced on April 13, 2021.

Residents and tourists must perform an RT-PCR test upon arrival at Sharjah’s airport and remain quarantined until the results are received. If your test is positive, you must remain isolated for 14 days and follow the Ministry of Health and Prevention recommendations.