Dubai Visa Requirements for Canadian Passport Holders

It depends on the passport you fly with. The UAE looks at nationality first, and a Canadian PR card only helps certain nationalities, Indian citizens for example, under conditions that change from time to time. Rather than test that at the transfer desk, send us your passport and itinerary. Our team checks the current rule and, where it makes sense, arranges a pre-approved 48-hour or 96-hour transit visa before you fly.

Yes. Canadian passports are currently listed for arrival entry, so stepping out is usually possible, but for long layovers we still suggest a pre-arranged transit visa. Rules can change with little notice, check-in staff at Pearson sometimes ask how you will spend the stopover, and a delayed onward flight can turn a few hours into a night. Send us your passport scan and both flight numbers and we will handle the rest.

On separate tickets you normally collect your bags and check in again, which means passing UAE immigration. For a same-day self-transfer, our 48-hour transit visa usually covers it; if the second flight leaves a day or more later, choose the 96-hour option. Both are tied to a confirmed onward ticket and cannot be extended, so apply with us first, once both bookings are confirmed.

Abu Dhabi follows the same federal entry rules as Dubai. If you stay in the transfer area at Zayed International on one Etihad ticket, you generally won't pass immigration. On a Canadian passport, arrival entry is currently listed if you want to leave the terminal, but we recommend a pre-arranged transit visa in case a missed connection forces an overnight. Travelling on an Indian passport instead? Ask us, because the rules differ.

Two different systems. US airports have no airside transit, so you clear US immigration on the connection, although Canadians normally need no US visa or ESTA to do so. In Dubai, Canadian passports are listed for arrival entry and a through-ticket connection stays airside. If your Dubai stop is long or on separate tickets, we recommend a pre-arranged transit visa so a delay there doesn't leave you without options.