Visa process for tourists to be improved: interior ministry

The committee added that such external offices should be set up with the approval of UAE embassies. The recommendation is more or less a follow-up of a decision announced in July 2008 by the then Minister of Interior Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan. As per the decision, the Department of Naturalisation and Residency, and the embassies and consulates of the UAE will be authorised to issue visas to people visiting their friends and families in the UAE.

Apart from the GCC countries, whose residents do not require a visa, there are 33 countries whose residents are granted tourist or visitor visa on arrival. These include countries in Western Europe, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, other citizens of other countries are issued visas through a sponsor – a travel agent, hotel, company or resident -- in the UAE.