Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has issued updated guidance for the UAE’s five-year multiple-entry tourist visa, a product increasingly popular with business travellers who shuttle in and out of the Emirates for project work. In a bulletin released on 16 July, officials restated that travellers may stay up to 90 days per visit—extendable once—and must not exceed an aggregate 180 days in any 12-month period. The document also codifies a January rule change that doubled the required bank-statement history from three to six consecutive months. Applicants must now demonstrate a minimum balance equivalent to US $4,000 throughout that six-month span. Mobility advisers say the higher evidentiary bar is designed to weed out marginal applications and ensure that remote workers and frequent visitors have sustainable income streams. Crucially, the visa remains self-sponsored and is open to all nationalities, providing a strategic option for companies that need to rotate experts into the UAE without triggering local payroll registration. Application channels—GDRFA smart apps, Customer Happiness Centres and Amer service centres—continue to operate 24/7, making the process accessible even for last-minute travel needs. For multinational HR teams the clarification removes lingering ambiguity over “clock resets” when travellers exit to Oman or Bahrain for weekend visa runs. The 180-day annual ceiling is now explicitly measured on a rolling basis, not per calendar year, meaning overstays could accumulate silently if records are not monitored. Advisers recommend that travellers pull an immigration-movement report quarterly and that employers integrate stay-count alerts into travel-booking workflows. The five-year visa complements the Golden Visa and new Remote-Work Residence categories, offering a mid-tier solution for consultants, project managers and family visitors. With Dubai forecasting over 20 million annual visitors by 2027, officials see the product as a lever to spread tourist spend across repeat trips rather than one-off holidays.
Source: Gulf News
