In 2025, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) implemented significant changes in the UAE visa rules for Pakistani citizens. Due to the fact that several Work, tourism, and study opportunities exist in the UAE, leading to several Pakistani nationals moving to different cities in the UAE. Any Pakistani citizen willing to visit the UAE must know the UAE visa rules for Pakistani citizens.
UAE Visa for Pakistani Nationals:
The government issues different types of UAE visas for Pakistani nationals, including work visas, tourist visas, business visas, residence visas, and student visas.
UAE Visa Rules Updated For Pakistan Nationals:
In February 2025, the UAE government updated visa rules for Pakistani citizens willing to arrive in the UAE. The new UAE visa update for Pakistan citizens requires pre-approval documentation, biometric verification, medical tests, bank balance checks, and online applications.
Processing Time for UAE Visa:
Any Pakistani individual who has applied for the UAE visa can obtain his reserve within 3 to 24 hours, depending on the visa process he is going through.
- Standard Processing Time: In general, any Visa application made by a Pakistani citizen can get an approval Ordinance within 3 days
- Urgent Visa: If you must reach UAE urgently, you can apply for an urgent UAE visa. In such a scenario, you can get the approval within 48 hours.
- Super Urgent Visa: The super urgent visa allows you to get the UAE visa within 24 hours. It requires you to submit documents specifying why you must visit within 24 hours of embarking on the journey.
Documents Required to Submit for UAE Visa:
A Pakistani national willing to arrive in the UAE must submit several documents while applying for a UAE visa.
Pre-Approval Process Required for Pakistani Citizens or UAE Visa:
Any Pakistani national who wants to travel to the UAE must obtain a security clearance issued by the UAE Immigration Authority before their visit. Alternatively, the applicant can submit their request to ICP. Pre-approval documentation confirms that the UAE government has approved the Pakistani citizen’s visa request. The final visa has not yet been issued. The visa aims to enhance security protocols and streamline the application process. Total free charge for the UAE visa ranges from $49 to $177.
Passport:
A Pakistani national needs to submit a scanned copy of their passport. The passport must be valid for 6 months from the date of departure from the UAE, with a copy of CINC proof of residency of Pakistan or Pakistan ID.
Police Clearance Certificate (PCC):
A PCC is one of the primary documents that an applicant from Pakistani nationals must submit to obtain a UAE visa. The complete form of PCC is a police clearance certificate. A PCC is a government-authorized certificate that confirms that the person has no criminal records. A PCC document is not mandatory for a person arriving in the UAE on a tourist or visit visa.
Biometric Data Collection:
According to the UAE visa update for Pakistani citizens, biometric verification is essential for people willing to arrive there. Biometric identification of a person includes face verification, fingerprints, and other biometric verification.
Document Attestation:
Pakistani nationals traveling to the UAE for work or higher education need to attest their educational documents from the Pakistan and UAE governments. Document attestation for the UAE visa involves attestation of educational documents, business documentation, and personal documents. UAE document attestation involves several steps of attestation:
- Notary Public Attestation: Any educational or personal documents attested by local authorities.
- HSE Board Attestation: Educational documents of a person traveling to the UAE that the educational board attests.
- MOFA Attestation: All documents attested by a notary HSC Board are attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan. After passing through all these steps, all documents are cross-verified at every stage for security and authentication purposes.
- MOFA Attestation in UAE: Once the Pakistan authorities have cleared the documents of the passenger traveling to the UAE, they are cross-checked at MOFA attestation.
Medical Fitness Requirement:
All citizens who are departing from Pakistan to UAE as tourists, students, or working professionals must get a medical fitness certificate to certify that they are not suffering from HIV, Hepatitis B and C, or Specific job-related diseases.
Visa Processing Fee:
When applying for a UAE visa, you must submit visa processing fees to the UAE government. For a 30-day single-entry visa in the UAE, a Pakistani national must pay $69 as a visa processing fee.
Age-Specific Application Procedures:
A Pakistani national willing to arrive in the UAE can apply for a UAE visa on his or her own if he or she is above 21 years of age. If they are between 21 and 18 years old, the parent or legal guardian can apply for a UAE visa. If their age is below 18, you must travel to the country with your parents or legal guardian. If you are travelling with your children below 5 years of age you do not need to take the child with yourself at the visa center. Children above
Employment Contract Registration:
Any Pakistani national with an offer letter to work in any organization with UAE offices must register under an employment contract with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization. The person going to work must go through a document verification through MOHRE. The government authorizes the person to fulfill all the requirements to work in the country.
Enhanced Security Measures:
The increase in visa policies and procedures is mainly concerned with the security of the people residing in the UAE. The protocols for the UAE work visa ensure that only valid and qualified candidates are allowed to enter the UAE for work.
Overstay fines in the UAE:
Overstaying is considered a crime. Though you are allowed a grace period to pay an overstay penalty and leave the country, any Pakistani citizen who overstays in the UAE will have to pay AED 50 for every day from the UAE visa’s expiration date.
UAE visa photo size requirement:
Recent amendments made in February 2025 for UAE visas for Pakistani citizens’ photos are essential to obtain a UAE visa. Let us know about the rules for passport-size photographs that need to be submitted to the authority.
- Dimension: You must submit a passport-size photograph having a dimension of 4.3 cm : 5.5 cm
- Background Color: The background of passport-size photographs should not look vibrant. A light color such as white or light grey is a better option.
- Face Area: Within the whole passcode size photograph, your face was 80 to 90% of the total area of the photo
- Expression: During your photo session, ask your photographer to take a picture of you with a natural smile. Try to avoid making unusual facial expressions, which can result in the cancellation of your visa.
New rules for Dubai tourist visa:
All those Pakistani travelers who wish to visit Dubai and willing to witness Dubai stunning destinations should know about the new rules for Dubai tourist visa. Some magnificent sights in Dubai can apply for a Dubai tourist visa. Anyone travelling to Dubai from Pakistan as a tourist need to submit following documents
- Hotel booking with QR code
- Bank statement
- Tourist visa can only be taken through travel agencies
- Return ticket from Dubai
- Past travel history including visa rejection if applicable
- National ID