The Standard UAE Tourist Visa
The UAE 30-day single-entry visa is the most-requested service in our portfolio. It applies to passport holders from countries that don’t get visa-on-arrival (most of South Asia, the Philippines, sub-Saharan Africa, China, and most of the CIS region). Standard turnaround is 24-72 hours from complete document submission; Express (24-hour) and Urgent (4-hour) options exist for tighter timelines.
Lavisa handles the application end-to-end via the ICA (Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security Authority) GDRFA online portal. We don’t outsource — our visa team is in-house in Dubai and licensed by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle visa facilitation for individuals and groups.
What You Send Us
Required: passport bio page scan (6+ months validity), recent color photo (white background, 4.3 × 5.5 cm, JPEG), confirmed return ticket (or itinerary), hotel booking confirmation, and bank statement of last 3 months. Optional but strengthens application: invitation letter from UAE host, business letterhead invitation for business visits.
How the Application Flows
Day 0: You complete our online intake form (15 minutes) and upload documents. Day 0: Our visa specialist reviews — if anything’s missing or borderline, we tell you within 2 hours and recommend fixes. Day 0-1: We submit to ICA. Day 1-3: ICA processes (typically 1-2 days for clean applications). Day 3: Approved e-visa PDF emailed to you, ready to print or show on phone at UAE immigration.
Approval Likelihood
Our overall approval rate for 30-day tourist visas is 96.4% (last 12 months, our database). The 3.6% rejections cluster around: insufficient bank funds, prior UAE overstays, and rejected applications elsewhere in the Gulf within the last 12 months. We do a pre-screen and tell you upfront if your case has elevated rejection risk — and refund 50% of our fee if we recommend not proceeding and you don’t.
What Happens at the UAE Airport
You land with the e-visa printed (or on phone). UAE immigration scans the QR code, checks your passport, takes biometrics if it’s your first UAE entry, and stamps you in. Total airport time: typically 8-15 minutes including queues. From DXB Terminal 3 (the busiest), expect closer to 30 minutes at peak (16:00-22:00 daily).
