Team Blitz India
In a fresh step towards strengthening people-to-people ties, Dubai has introduced a five-year multiple-entry visa to encourage tourism and business relations with India. The decision follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE.
During the two-day visit, PM Modi met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the two leaders endorsed efforts from both sides to strengthen strong economic and commercial cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration.
A latest statement from Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) mentioned, “Dubai introduced a five-year multiple-entry visa to further bolster travel between India and Dubai, to foster sustained economic collaborations and encourage tourism and business ties.”
Tourists’ number up
Incidentally, Dubai hosted 2.46 million overnight visitors from India between January and December 2023, according to latest data from DET. This registers a significant increase from the 1.84 million tourists the previous year. In fact, last year’s arrival surpassed the pre-pandemic figure of 1.97 million visitors in 2019, which is a remarkable growth of 25 per cent over pre-pandemic era.
With an exceptional 34 per cent Year-on-Year growth, India continues to be the top country to send the maximum number of international visitors from a single market. The number of Indian tourists thus contributed significantly to Dubai’s record-breaking tourism performance in 2023.
Overall, Dubai welcomed 17.15 million international overnight visitors in 2023. This marked a 19.4% growth over the 14.36 million tourist arrivals in 2022, according to DET data.
New visa rules
With the new rule, once an application for multiple-entry visa is received, and is officially accepted, the travel document is expected to be issued within two to five working days. It will allow the stamped passportholder to stay in the country for 90 days, which can be extended once more for a similar period. But the total number of days for stay should not exceed 180 days in one year.
Indian tourists can thus avail the facility for multiple entries and exits, providing operational flexibility for business engagements, leisure travel, and seamless connectivity, reports added.
The UAE is home to about 3.5 million Indian nationals, making it the largest diaspora anywhere in the world. The region has been a major source of jobs – and thus, remittances. India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner, with bilateral trade rising to $85 billion in 2022-23. In their meeting, the PM of India and the President of the UAE expressed optimism regarding elevating the bilateral trade to $100 billion well ahead of the target year 2030.
