The UAE’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) issued fresh guidance on 16 July 2026 detailing eligibility and documentation for its five-year, self-sponsored multiple-entry tourist visa – a product that has attracted strong interest from Indian corporates since its soft launch last year. Under the rules, applicants must show a six-month bank balance of at least US$4,000, valid health insurance and a passport with six-month validity. Each entry allows a 90-day stay, extendable once per visit, with a cap of 180 days per calendar year. Crucially, no local sponsor is required, making it the first genuinely independent long-stay visa in the Gulf. For Indian companies the visa offers a flexible alternative to costly multiple-entry business visas or residence permits for staff who shuttle between India and the UAE to manage projects, clients or family investments. It also dovetails with India’s hub-and-spoke aviation model: executives can clear Indian immigration at spoke airports like Varanasi, fly via Delhi and enter the UAE repeatedly on a single visa. Mobility teams should note processing times of 5-7 working days and the need to upload six-month stamped bank statements – many online PDF statements lack official stamps and get rejected. Insurers are already marketing short-term UAE-compliant policies bundled with visa assistance. Although classed as a tourist visa, the permit is acceptable for attending conferences and ad-hoc client meetings; however, holders cannot take up employment. Overstays incur dirham-denominated fines that escalate daily, so travel-tracking tools should flag cumulative 180-day thresholds. The guidance positions the UAE competitively against Singapore’s five-year frequent-traveller pass and Thailand’s 10-year Long-Term Residency scheme, widening options for Indians seeking mobility within Asia and the Gulf.
Source: The Indian Express
