Dubai is moving tourist visa applications onto Visit Dubai, the city's official tourism website, The National reported on 1 November. The change is part of a tourism plan unveiled that day by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, which also introduces a membership programme for repeat visitors.
According to the newspaper, Visit Dubai will accept applications for single-entry and multiple-entry tourist visas, and more visa categories are planned. The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) remains the authority that assesses applications and issues visas. The integration falls under the Shared Digital Channels Initiative, developed by the GDRFA, the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism and Digital Dubai.
The second part of the plan is the Dubai Access Club, which the Dubai Media Office described as the world's first city-led, invitation-only tourism membership programme. It is meant to offer repeat visitors exclusive experiences, services and benefits, but the perks have not yet been disclosed. Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai aims to rank among the world's top three tourism destinations, a goal tied to the D33 economic agenda.
The National links the plan to government efforts to speed up tourism growth during the regional conflict. Government figures cited by the newspaper show 869,000 international overnight visitors in August, the highest since February, and hotel occupancy of 66 per cent in August against 36 per cent in March. Dubai received 6.97 million international visitors in the first eight months of 2026, after 19.59 million in the whole of 2025.
What it means
The channel for applying changes, not the authority that decides: tourist visas are still assessed and issued by the GDRFA. According to the newspaper, further visa categories and more details of the service will be announced in due course, and the benefits of the new club have not been made public.
Was this useful?