The new UAE tourist visa will be available to all nationalities… 

If you have family or friends who have been meaning to visit (or re-visit) the UAE, 2020 is the perfect year to bring them. The UAE has just announced a five-year multiple-entry tourist visa.

The news broke during the first Cabinet meeting of the year and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai took to Twitter to announce it.

The tweet stated “Today (Monday January 6, 2020) we approved the change of the tourist visa system in the country … so that the duration of the tourist visa is five years, multi-use for all nationalities”

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The Ruler of Dubai also stated that the UAE receives more than 21 million tourists annually and its aim is to establish the country as a major global tourist destination.

At the moment, tourists who visit the UAE have free multiple entry for up to 90 days starting from the date of entry. However no further details have been released, so we are unsure on costs for the visa as of yet.

According to The National, Sheikh Mohammed said: “the visa, which will be introduced within the next four months, aims to establish the UAE as a major global tourism destination and is part of wider plans to prepare the country for the next 50 years of development.”

A series of new visas were introduced in 2019, such as the long term visas for investors, entrepreneurs and specialists in the fields of science and knowledge, and the first long-term cultural visa for artists, authors & innovators in October 2019.

The news comes just a day after Sheikh Mohammed reveals 12 actions planned for Dubai in 2020 in a ‘2020 Charter’ letter he shared on Twitter on January 4, 2020. The Charter which maps out the vision for Dubai as decided by the Dubai Council for the next 50 years will ‘establish the developmental agenda to ensure the best quality of life for citizens, residents and visitors of Dubai.’

Images: Sheikh Mohammed Twitter