Six more nationalities can now get a visa on arrival

The rule that changed here is a conditional one, and the condition is the part people misread. This is not a passport-based entitlement. It is an entitlement that depends on where you live as much as on which passport you hold.

The six new nationalities

The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security has extended entry-visa eligibility to nationals of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya and South Africa, joining India on the list.

The six new countries of residence

The list of qualifying residences has widened too. Alongside the United States, the United Kingdom and EU member states, an applicant may now hold valid residency in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

Both conditions have to hold at once: an eligible nationality and a valid residence permit from an approved country. A Kenyan national resident in Kenya is not covered by this change; a Kenyan national resident in Canada is.

What each visa costs and does

14-day visa — Dh100. Extendable once during the stay.

60-day visa — Dh250. Single entry, and not extendable.

The asymmetry is worth pausing on. The cheaper visa is the flexible one; the longer visa is the rigid one. Someone planning a two-month stay with an uncertain end date is choosing between a 60-day visa that cannot move and a 14-day visa that can be extended once — and the second is not obviously the wrong answer.

The overstay figure

Overstaying carries a fine of Dh50 per day. On a non-extendable 60-day visa, that is the number to hold in mind when booking a return flight for the sixtieth day rather than the fifty-eighth.