This is a guide on how to apply for a UAE Visa online if you are flying with Emirates.
Are you planning a stopover or holiday in the United Arab Emirates and wondering how to apply for a UAE visa online? If you’re flying with Emirates, here’s a detailed step-by-step guide to help you through the process — based on my own experience applying from South Africa.
Visa applications are such a schlep. I’d honestly be delighted if visas were abolished forever — travel would be so much easier and cheaper!
On my South America trip, I visited Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay — none of which required visas for South African passport holders. However, on our return journey, we chose to do a stopover in the United Arab Emirates as we were flying with Emirates, and a UAE visa was required.
If you are flying with Emirates or Etihad, you can apply for your visa directly through their websites. Although there are other methods, applying via the airline is much easier — it requires fewer documents, no local sponsor, and can be done entirely online.
I completed my visa application through Emirates, which uses VFS Global to process applications. Here’s exactly how I did it.
A machine-readable passport valid for at least six months from your date of arrival (upload both the bio and last page).
A colour passport photo.
Copies of approved visas to the UK, US, or Schengen countries if you’ve travelled there in the last five years — these strengthen your application.
A copy of your confirmed air ticket.
You must have a confirmed flight with Emirates before applying for a visa.
You can only apply within 58 days of your return date, and the latest you can apply is two weeks before travelling.
Once you’re within this window, go to the Emirates website, click on Manage an Existing Booking, and log in using your surname and booking reference number.
Scroll down to Apply for your UAE Visa and click on it. There are seven types of Dubai visas — choose the one that suits your trip.
I selected the 30-day short-term tourist visa.
Click Continue to Visa Application and carefully read the information provided. Tick I have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, then click Continue.
Select the relevant flight leg (if you have a multi-leg trip) and the passengers who require visas.
You’ll need to enter each traveller’s passport number, issue date, and expiry date, so have these ready.
Click Continue to move on.
After this step, you’ll see a message saying you’ll receive an email link to continue your application “shortly.” I waited two days and never got it.
When I phoned VFS Johannesburg, they advised me to come in person to apply — not ideal since I prefer doing everything online!
Eventually, I found a helpful tip on one of the international VFS websites:
Go to the login page, click “Forgot Application Number”, complete your details, and you’ll receive a new email link.
This didn’t work on Chrome (I kept getting an error message), but it worked when I switched to my Opera VPN set to the USA.
Use the visa application number received via email and your flight reference number (not the booking reference) to log in.
Fill in your personal, passport, employment, and hotel details.
Under Profession, there’s an extensive dropdown list — though I couldn’t find “Blogger” or “Writer”! Here are a few amusing options I came across:
Camel Man
Chewing Gum Maker
Milker
Oyster Diver
Grilled Chicken Maker
Once complete, upload your documents. The site has strict file size limits, but you can use the online image editing tool provided to resize them.
Submit the forms for each traveller, then pay via credit card.
After submission, I received an email confirming that my application had been received, followed by another requesting clearer passport copies.
I was able to send these via email — a relief, since email doesn’t have file size restrictions.
Three days later, I received confirmation that all our UAE visas were approved. The process was far easier than going into an office, and we went on to have a fantastic time in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
If it weren’t for the visa costs, I’d definitely do a UAE stopover every time I flew with Emirates!
Machine-readable passports only: Handwritten passports are no longer accepted.
Processing time: 24–72 hours (or 5–6 working days for normal applications). Express options are available.
Visa options: South Africans can now apply for 14-day, 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day tourist visas, with single or multiple-entry options.
Application window: Minimum 4 international working days (though two weeks ahead is still recommended).
Transit visas: 48-hour and 96-hour transit visas can be applied for within 30 days of travel.
48-hour transit visa: Free of charge (processing fees apply).
96-hour transit visa: AED 50–55.
Visa costs: Prices have increased significantly. As of 2025, UAE tourist visa fees for South Africans range from approximately ZAR 2,425 (30-day single-entry) to ZAR 8,130 (60-day multiple-entry), including embassy and service fees.
Applying for a UAE visa online through Emirates is convenient and far less stressful than traditional embassy applications.
The process is smooth once you understand the steps — just be patient with the VFS system and ensure your documents are correctly formatted.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi make excellent stopovers, so if you can arrange the visas, it’s worth it!
Read more on UAE visas here.
Visit the official UAE Visa application website.
Find accommodation in UAE here.
Click here for How to apply for UK visas
Click here for How to apply for Schengen visas
Click here for How to apply for US visas (for children)
Click here for Turkey visa requirements.
Sara Essop is a travel blogger and writer based in South Africa. She writes about family travel and experiences around the world. Although she has been to 50 countries thus far, she especially loves showcasing her beautiful country and is a certified South Africa Specialist.
Hello,
thanks for post this blog its really help for others to apply for a uae visa