UAE visit visa’s extension procedures updated

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has introduced a new service for extension of a visit visa for a relative or a friend.

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) said the new service will help in extending a visit visa for a relative or friend for one or multiple entries — for 30, 60 and 90 days — using the ICP’s smart channels.

ICP also made it possible to extend the visa for a period of 30 days and for one time for holders of 90-day visas, but it is not allowed to apply for residency renewal if the residency validity is more than 6 months (separate residency services).

It also provided the service of cancelling and amending visa data for citizens of the GCC countries who do not have a UAE ID.

Residents of the UAE can apply from abroad and on their own to obtain a visit visa for a relative or friend through the UAEICP smart application, ICP added.

ICP called on everyone to download the UAEICP smart application and take advantage of the many and varied services provided, including a request for a visit visa, which requires logging in through the app with the UAE Pass digital identity, then selecting “Start a new service”, then clicking on “New visa” where a list containing a visa for several trips would appear, depending on the type of visit visa, 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days.

“Once the applicant selects the service of issuing a visit visa through the app, according to its duration, all the data of the individual to be visited in the UAE will appear automatically, and then the steps for submitting the application can be completed after filling in the identification data of the applicant, to be followed by attaching the required documents and finally paying the prescribed fees”, ICP said.

After the issuance of the visa, the visa holder must enter the country within 60 days from the date of issuance, and the validity of the entry permit will be 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days, after which he must leave the country or extend the entry permit before expiration to avoid being fined with Dhs100 for each day, according to ICP.

ICP has set four conditions to obtain a visit visa, the first of which is that the visitor be a relative or friend of a citizen or resident in the UAE, attaching evidence of kinship and the reasons for the visit, and paying the financial guarantee determined according to the purpose.

“If the purpose of the visa is that the foreign wife wanted to visit her husband who is a citizen of the GCC countries, it is required that she must have a valid residency in the home country of the husband,” ICP explained.