UAE Visa for Nepali Citizens: 2026 Entry Guide

Nepali passport holders are outside the UAE's visa-on-arrival list, meaning a UAE eVisa generally needs to be arranged in advance of travel rather than being issued automatically at the airport the way it is for citizens of the roughly 50-plus visa-on-arrival nationalities.

The standard tourist eVisa route for Nepali travelers is generally available in 30-day or 60-day durations, applied for through the ICP portal, an airline's website, or an authorized travel agent or typing center, with processing typically taking a few business days once the application, passport bio-page, and photo are submitted. As with several other South Asian nationalities, Nepali travelers who already hold a valid visa or residence permit from a specific set of approved countries, commonly cited examples include the US, UK, EU member states, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, or South Korea, have in some cases been described as eligible for a shorter, more streamlined entry route rather than needing the full advance eVisa process, though this conditional pathway is narrower than a general visa-on-arrival entitlement and depends entirely on holding that additional qualifying document.

For Nepali nationals relocating to the UAE for employment, which represents a meaningful share of overall Nepali travel to the country given the size of the existing Nepali workforce there, the relevant process is the standard employment visa sequence rather than the tourist eVisa: an employer-secured MOHRE work permit, entry permit, mandatory medical fitness test, Emirates ID registration, and residence visa stamping, each a genuinely separate track from short-term tourist entry.

Given how eVisa categories, conditional fast-track eligibility, and fee schedules have shifted more than once in recent years across several South Asian nationalities, Nepali travelers and prospective workers should confirm current requirements directly through ICP, GDRFA, or their sponsoring employer's PRO rather than relying on older guidance that may no longer reflect current rules.