Dubai's five-year tourist visa: the $4,000 balance and the Dh3,713 in fees

The five-year multiple-entry tourist visa is the UAE's answer to the person who visits Dubai several times a year and does not want to apply each time. It is self-sponsored; no hotel, host or company stands behind it.

The condition

A bank balance of US$4,000, about Dh14,690, or its equivalent, held over the six months before the application, shown by bank statements. That is the only financial test.

The fees

Gulf News, reading the GDRFA schedule, puts them at Dh100 application, Dh500 issuance, a Dh3,000 guarantee, and smaller items of Dh21, Dh20, Dh10, Dh10 and Dh52.5: about Dh3,713 in all. The guarantee is a deposit, not a charge, though the conditions of its return are the GDRFA's to set.

What it allows

Each stay is 90 days, extendable once by another 90, with no more than 180 days in a year. Entry is unlimited within the five years. It is a tourist visa: no work, and no residence.

How to apply

On the GDRFA Dubai site, gdrfad.gov.ae, under the service called New 5 Years Tourism Entry Permit: passport copy, photograph, the six months of bank statements, and a medical insurance policy covering the UAE.