getting your dubai tourist visa converted to a residence visa

The aristocratic lifestyle of Dubai can easily mojo you to make the country your new home. Attracted by the standard of living and businesses avenues, tourists often find themselves in a situation where they want to get their tourist visa converted into a Dubai residence visa and if you too are in the same boat, this article will help in every possible way as we’ll be looking at the procedure of converting your Dubai tourist visa to a residence visa along with the formalities involved in the process. 

What is a Residence Visa

A residence visa is a long-term visa that allows the holder to reside and work in Dubai for a specified time period. The validity of your visa may vary from 1 to 3 years depending on the type of residence visa you’ve applied for. However, if you’re going for a retirement visa or an investment visa, you will be issued a 5-year or a 10-year visa. 

Residence visas are renewable under normal circumstances and the holder can submit a renewal request without exiting the country. 

Also Read: Popular Festivals in Dubai

Dubai’s Inside Country Visa Change Policy

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the government to bring some new policies regarding international travel and foreign residency. One of the most highlighted policies of these policies is the inside country visa change in Dubai. 

As the pandemic put an unexpected halt on international travel, many foreign nationals could not return to their home countries and demanded a remedy to this. Adding fuel to the fire came unemployment due to the massive termination of employees. Thus, to pull foreigners and residents out of this situation, the government of the UAE and GDRFA came up with the inside country visa change, under which a foreign national can get his/her Dubai tourist visa converted into a residence visa without the need to leave the country. 

List of Documents Required for Visa Conversion

Although the scheme of allowing tourists and visitors to get their tourist visas converted into residence visas is a step to tackle the catastrophes of the global pandemic, it still involves a considerable amount of processing and legal formalities to be met for the change to be initiated. Thus, every applicant needs to submit a set of documents to apply for a "Dubai visa conversion" i.e. getting a tourist visa converted into a residence visa. 

Here is the list of the documents that you need to submit to get your visa converted in Dubai.

1. Your original passport along with a copy of the biometrics page
2. Recently-clicked passport-size photographs (must be clicked on a white background)
3. A scanned copy of the last Dubai visa or entry stamp you received on this passport

How to Convert Tourist Visa into Residence Visa in Dubai

The process of getting your tourist visa converted into a Dubai residence visa is 100% online and can be done through GDRFA’s portal or Dubai Transit E-Visa. Therefore, it is necessary that you should get your documents scanned and keep the scanned copies ready as you’re supposed to upload these documents and not submit them physically. 

Applying through the government portal can be quite confusing. The best way to get started with your visa conversion process is by visiting Dubai Transit E-Visa and contacting the experts here  The team members here are extremely professional and have mastered their fields. They have helped more than 500k travelers to get their Dubai visit visas in no time and are also well-known for making tedious processes like visa conversion a doodle. Our approval rate is 100% and we’re looking for a chance to help you get your tourist visa converted into a residence visa in Dubai. 

Your converted residence visa will be valid for 90 days, counted from the date of approval. A fee of AED 1550 will be charged for this conversion. You can visit our website for more information regarding Dubai tourist visa conversion.

Renewing/Converting Your Dubai Employment Visa

Like many tourists could not leave Dubai due to the ban on international traveling, there could be chances that many employment visa holders could neither get their visa renewed nor leave the country before the expiry date. A person staying in Dubai on an expired visa is penalized and thus, it is important to get your visa renewed or converted as soon as possible. 

Here is how you can get your Dubai employment visa renewed or converted after it is expired.

• Applying for a new employment visa

If your Dubai employment visa has expired, you must submit a new visa application immediately. You can choose between an online or offline channel based on your convenience. DH 1020 will be charged from the applicant as typing charges. 

• Request for a visa conversion

After receiving a visa approval, the workflow will go in the exact same direction. You’re now eligible to apply for the inside country visa conversion by writing an application and paying 540 Dirhams as typing charges.

The following documents need to be attached to the application.

• The original passport of the applicant
• Your new employment visa 
• Your present visit visa

Also Read: How to Get Dubai Visa for GCC Nationals

In The End

Getting your visa converted is the best way to reside in Dubai if you’re stuck due to the pandemic. Contact us today and get your visa converted in no time!

Apply Dubai Transit Visa