UAE Visa for Filipino Citizens: The New Conditional Visa-on-Arrival (June 2026)

Starting 25 June 2026, Filipino passport holders gained access to a genuinely new entry option: a conditional visa-on-arrival, announced jointly by the UAE and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in recognition of the two countries' bilateral relationship. Before this date, Filipino citizens needed a pre-approved UAE visa in every case, with no visa-free or on-arrival route available regardless of the purpose of travel.

The new arrangement is conditional rather than universal: it applies only to Filipino passport holders who also hold a valid visa, residence permit, or Green Card from one of nine specific countries, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, European Union member states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, or South Korea. That qualifying document must be valid at the time of arrival, not expired and not revoked; immigration officers check this directly, and an expired qualifying visa or permit disqualifies the traveller from the on-arrival route entirely.

Eligible travellers can choose between two options once at the airport: a 14-day visa-on-arrival for a fee of AED 100, extendable once for an additional 14 days at a further fee, or a non-extendable 60-day option for AED 250. Filipino citizens who do not hold one of the nine qualifying documents are not affected by this change and must continue applying for a UAE visa in advance of travel, exactly as before, whether for tourism, business, or a longer stay.

This mirrors a pattern the UAE has applied to several other nationalities in 2026: rather than opening blanket visa-free access, eligibility is extended conditionally, tied to a traveller already holding a qualifying visa or residence permit from a small list of other countries. Given how new this policy is and how specifically it is worded around document validity, Filipino travellers planning a trip should confirm their own eligibility, and the current fee schedule, directly with the Philippine DFA or UAE ICP before assuming either the on-arrival route or the standard advance-visa process applies to their situation.