Are you thinking about making an Abu Dhabi Stop Over? Here are the details you need to know how to plan your Abu Dhabi stopover.
Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates. It is also the UAE capital city and the second most popular city after Dubai.
The capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, is situated on an island in the Persian Gulf, not far from the country’s central and western coasts. The mainland, which is connected to the rest of the country, is home to the vast majority of residents of the city and the Emirates.
Although the Abu Dhabi airport is the prettiest, it is not busy as Dubai or Qatar (Hamad International Airport). In essence, there is not much goes on at the airport.
There comes a benefit when an airport is not busy like Abu Dhabi airport because you will get cleared at the immigration fast. Hence if you are on your way to Dubai or another place in UAE, a stopover in Abu Dhabi is amazing.
Does one require a visa to Explore Abu Dhabi?
Yes, you need a visa to explore Abu Dhabi, whether in transit or entering UAE. You will be cleared quickly when you arrive at the Abu Dhabi airport. Thus even if you are on a transit visa, you can have time for a stopover.
If you were on a transit visa, which has a maximum of 86 hours to be in UAE, and you see you need more time for your stopover in Abu Dhabi, there are various UAE tourist visa extension options. For example, you can get UAE to visit visa to extend your Abu Dhabi stopover.
The UAE government has laid down different rules depending on your country when looking to get a UAE visa. Therefore important to know these visa rules if you plan to extend your stay and get a new visa during a stopover in Abu Dhabi.
On Arrival & Prepaid visa (14Days, 30 Days, 90 Days, and 180 Days)
The following are UAE visa options for you when you plan to extend your Abu Dhabi stopover.
14 Days on arrival visa (Paid):
If you are Indian and hold a valid green card/ visit visa to the USA or a UK/EU residence visa are eligible for a paid 14-day on-arrival visa. You will get more than 14 days to explore Abu Dhabi. The cost of the visa is 120 AED.
30 Days on arrival visa (Free):
The 30 days on arrival visa, which is free, is preserved for passport holders of the following countries;
Andorra, Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Macau, China, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, San Marino, Singapore, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, United States of America and Vatican City.
You will get your passport stamped at the immigration offices and allowed 30 days in UAE; hence can explore Abu Dhabi on your stopover.
90 Days on arrival visa (Free):
The 90-day on-arrival visa, which is free, is preserved for passport holders of the following countries; Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Italy, etc.
180 Days on arrival visa (Free):
The 180-day on-arrival visa, which is free, is preserved for Mexican passport holders.
If you are from the GCC countries, no visa is required to enter UAE. You also don’t require sponsorship to get a UAE visa. All required when entering UAE is to present their GCC country passport or national ID card at the point of entry.
Prepaid Visa or Visa Extension:
If you are not privileged to get the UAE visa on arrival, then you ought to get a UAE visa before arrival in the UAE. You need to have someone who will sponsor you to get the visa.
If you are in transit and plan an Abu Dhabi stopover, you must get a UAE tourist visa. If you get the visa, you can explore different parts of Abu Dhabi for a couple of days.
Extension Rules for Visa
If you qualify for the UAE visa on arrival, note you can only extend it once with the exemption of 180 days visa on arrival.
If you have to get a prepaid visa (UAE tourist or visit), you can extend it twice without exiting the country.
It is convenient after making the Abu Dhabi stopover and you are tourist visa, come to realize you need more days. You can extend your stay without exiting UAE.
If you would like to stay for a long in UAE, you can also change your visa without exiting the country.
Grace period for Visa
If you are on a prepaid visa (tourist or visit visa), there is a grace period of 10 days when you are required to extend your visa or leave the country.
If you qualify for the 30 days visa on arrival, you also get ten days grace period, but you cannot extend the visa but rather change the visa, which is possible without exiting the country.
If you enter UAE on a 14, 90, or 180 days visa on arrival, note there is no grace period. You ought to know when the visa will expire and arrange for a visa change or exit the country.
Overstating Rules
Every UAE visa stipulates how long you can stay in UAE. If your visa on arrival or prepaid visa expires and you have not extended or changed the visa, you will be fined. The fines are calculated per day as follows;
- The first day of overstay: 200 AED
- Each consecutive day: 100 AED
- Service fees: 100 AED
If Residence visa is Cancelled
You will be fined when your UAE residence visa is canceled, and go ahead overstay. The fines are calculated per day as follows
- AED 125 for the first day
- AED 25 for each subsequent day.
- AED 50 per day after six months of overstaying
- AED 100 per day after one year of overstaying
Abu Dhabi Excursion Tours While Stopover
You can explore different parts of Abu Dhabi on your stopover. Below are the best Abu Dhabi excursion tours while stopover.
1. Abu Dhabi with Louvre Museum
The construction of the Louvre Abu Dhabi began in 2017. It is the result of a never-before-seen relationship between France and the United Arab Emirates, and it is the largest cultural initiative France has ever undertaken outside of France.
The three pillars that support its success are its beautiful architecture, the wealth of its permanent collection (due to loans from the Louvre and other French museums), and the excellence of its temporary exhibitions.
2. Dubai Tour with Burj Khalifa
The towering building now known as Burj Khalifa, formerly Burj Dubai, is located near the First Interchange on Sheikh Zayed Road, which is not too distant from the central business district.
Along Sheikh Zayed Road are taxis, buses, and stops for the Red Line metro. Additionally, large hotels offer a complimentary shuttle service.
The Burj Khalifa is frequently included as a destination on excursions that also include transportation.
3. Desert Safari Tours
A desert safari in Dubai is unlike any other safari in the world for several reasons, not the least of which is the abundance of activities that may be participated in throughout the safari.
To begin, the scenery that you get to see while you’re on safari is very breathtaking. It is possible to continue to gaze at this marvel with a camp stay all night after participating in a safari experience; this feature contributes to the one-of-a-kind quality of the Dubai desert safari.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robeena Brown is a travel blogger & destination expert living in UAE, working for local tourism companies like Arabiers. If you’ve been looking forward to touring Dubai, getting a visa, and/or extending stays and exploring the city, you can follow her on social media.
