Canadians travel to U.A.E | ExpatWoman.com
 

Canadians travel to U.A.E

24
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 12:35

Hi Ladies,

My husband is traveling to Abu Dhabi he is a Canadian,we have contacted the U.A.E embassy here for instruction on the visa process since it's changed,they had no information and said to contact Etihad (their airline) for visa information ,have been calling them with no success in reaching them grrrrr.

My question is does he obtain his visa on arrival or prior to leaving Doha?

Thank so much

453
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 13 March 2011 - 14:49
I honestly didn't pay much attention to how long the visa was good for as we were only there for the weekend, and it only took about 45 minutes to go through the entire process. The longest portion was the lineup for the eyescan which the guy actually just stamped the application saying it was done without doing it and waved me through. There was no lineup for the men, but a huge lineup for the women. They did do the eyescan for my husband.
59
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 March 2011 - 08:36
Just goes to show it totally depends on who is behind the counter processing the visa. DebK, so great that you guys had such an easy time of it and for a cheaper price still. Was the visa good for 30 days, or the length of your trip? How long did it take you to get the visa at the airport? The eye scan is in the DXB airport and there was a super long line. Thankfully they also had a ladies line, not sure if a family could use it if you were traveling with hubby, I would certainly try? Interestingly, the immigration officer told me I would have to get the eye scan every time I came in, so they are obviously relying on that to monitor people.
453
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 14:10
Interesting bit of info HEF... only 250QR for the visa, entirely different from what I was told back in January. Just for clarification the "eye-ball scan" and stamping takes place upon arrival into DXB correct? So DebK which airline did you take over? We flew with Emirates last weekend. No one ever asked to actually see our hotel reservation (we simply wrote the name of the hotel on the form we filled out), and no one asked to see our return air tickets. It cost us 185 dirham per person (which is essentially 185 QAR per person.) So a tad less expensive. The entire process was completed at the airport in Dubai.
60
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 09:40
Interesting bit of info HEF... only 250QR for the visa, entirely different from what I was told back in January. Just for clarification the "eye-ball scan" and stamping takes place upon arrival into DXB correct? So DebK which airline did you take over?
59
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 March 2011 - 09:09
I am a Canadian with an RP for Qatar and as of mid January when I went to Dubai I was told that no matter what, and Canadian living in Qatar had only two options to get a visa and that is through Emirates or Ethiad. I was flying Emirates so I went to their office (D-Ring beside Lulu) with the required forms, copy of passport, copy of RP, ticket and NOC from work, or in my case my husband. I think I paid 250qar and about 4-5 days later I got my Visa. Presume a similar system with Ethiad. Another option is to try to book it online under the manage your booking option with Emirates (no idea about Ethiad). This would end up being basically the same as going in their office, but the office here told me it takes longer and may cost more? There are also "visa brokers" who arrange visas for all nationalities but they charge a lot more and it is mandatory that you have a hotel booking which acts as your sponsor - not an option for me as I always stay with family. For Canadians residing in Canada, I am told they must apply in the only UAE embassy (Ottawa), or use an online option with a broker or airline. As DebK stated, there is a place in the airport where you can apply and pay for a visa, after which the eye ball scan takes place then you go through immigration. My understanding is that you must show a hotel booking and your return ticket out in order to get this. The main thing is we now need a sponsor whether it be the airline, hotel, family or a broker - that is the hassle and costly part. The rules keep changing so my advice would be to talk to the airline, a broker or the naturalization department for the latest requirements, and hope for the best!
121
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 23:35
I am not Canadian but my nationality does not get visa upon arrival in the UAE (or Qatar for that matter). And there is definitely a visa for GCC residents with "professional" job titles regardless of nationality. How about calling the airline to double check if you need a visa if that makes you feel better! My understanding is that they get fined if they let anyone onto the plane without necessary visas so they tend to be well informed.
60
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 15:48
I hold a Canadian passport but reside in Doha... my husband and I attempted to travel to Dubai 3 days after the visa requirements/regulations changed and it was a mess! NO one knew what was going on, I spoke with numerous consulars from the UAE Embassy here, spoke directly to the Canadian Embassy in the UAE, spoke to Immigration at the Dubai Airport... which all deemed completely useless as half didn't even speak English. Finally put all my faith calling Canada directly for the facts. I called the UAE Embassy in Canada (based in Ottawa) and spoke directly to a Canadian consular. He explained that living in the GCC doesn't matter, if you hold a Canadian passport your going to face the same regulations as Canadian residing in Canada. The visa cost $250 CDN!!!... needless to say we scraped the Dubai trip. All the visa regulations are listed on the Canadian Voyage website,which I listed below. Also I encourage you to call the Embassy in Canada as they appeared to be the only one that could answer my questions correctly. Good Luck and keep us posted. http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=306000 http://www.uae-embassy.ae/Embassies/ca/Content/1173
24
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 March 2011 - 09:26
Thank you all , I love EW as always the best !!!
121
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 17:13
If your husband is a GCC resident with a "senior" sounding job title on his residence permit e.g. "Manager"... he will get a visa upon arrival regardless of nationality. It all depends on the designation on his residence permit.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 16:39
As far as I am aware, as long as you hold a resident visa in one of the GCC Countries, you can get the visa upon arrival on a Canadian Passport. I could be wrong but I think that is what I read on the UAE website recently.
453
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 10 March 2011 - 16:33
I know that last weekend when we travelled to Dubai, we were able to obtain our visa on arrival and it was actually less expensive than had we obtained it ahead of time. We simply went to the immigration part of the airport where they gave us a form to fill out, which we then took to the bank and paid for our visa. The next step was an eye scan -- which they made my husband complete, but just stamped my paper and away we went. We then showed the papers at the customs desk. HOWEVER, I know of several people who had planned to go to Abu Dhabi and thought they would just get their visa there, but were refused entry. So I really think it depends on who is working that day. It also may depend on what his visa for Qatar states his occupation to be. :)