UAE Visa

Is it possible to drive on a trip from UAE to Oman in a rental car? The quick answer is yes…Ofcourse! find the details here:

Crossing from UAE to Oman in a rental car.

Yes it is allowed and possible to drive from UAE to Oman in rented car as per the law. But most of the car rental companies donot promote this and avoid this discussion. This is due to the fact that the cars are being stolen and smuggled into Oman or neighbouring countries and disappears.

The rental cars are equipped with GPS tracking devices but it is limited to UAR. Thus cars disappear because the tracking devices in the cars doesn't cover the parts of Oman. So most of the car rental companies will not permit yourself to drive into Oman terittory from UAE in rented car.

There are other reasons like distance and maintenance costs. Normal driving limit for rent a car is 200-300 km but if you're crossing the border  to Oman it’s minimum 400 km one-way till Muscut. If you plan for a trip to Salalah it is 1200km one way. Like this maintenance issues of the car when it comes back also is a factor that the rental companies not allowing for crossing the border.

How can I drive from UAE to Oman in a rental car?

There are some car rental companies who will be having the capability of allowing you of driving into Oman. Second, be prepared to pay more. Car rental companies will invoice for driving 400-500 km one way and additional insurance charges for Oman Insurance.

The additional charges will be like extra percentage on the rental fees or per kilometer charge for additional km.

So the Oman trip is considered as a premium service from car rental companies. Finally, you will need an official ORIGINAL NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the car rental company. You have to keep your original passport and Emirates id on hand with you when you drive and reach to the Oman border.

Royal Oman Police issued a statment on 14th October 2019 clarifying the new online visa system.

The statement clarifies that there has been no change in the current procedure or method using for entering Oman through border check posts. However, an additional online portal has been made available for people who wish to save the time at the border posts, the statement said.

Tourists holding GCC passports, or GCC residency permits can obtain visa on arrival at all Omani border posts by filling up the application form at the border.

Oman new e-visa system

With the long weekend holiday coming up in the December and as many UAE residents usually plan to have road trips to Oman, this time they could apply for an e-visa to enter the country.

Visitors can either fill the visa application form at the immigration counters at the border and obtain visas on arrival. On long weekend holidays people were complaining about long queues, thus Omani goverment have provided an additional online service.

So for an easier process apply an online form on the Royal Oman Police website and pay a fee of Dhs50 if you’re a resident of GCC.

Take into consideration that the visa takes four days to be processed.

If you are a GCC resident you should log into https://evisa.rop.gov.om/

Create an account using your email id

Upload a passport copy that is at least 6 month valid

Upload a photo of the applicant that is not more than 512 KB.

Pay Aed. 50 as visa fee

Upon successful payment completion and application submission, and if approved, you will be get an electronic visa sent to your registered e-mail.

Conditions for issuing the visa:

The person should have a valid residence visa from any GCC country stamped on your passport.

The professions approved to enter without sponsor is shown in your residence stamping.

Valid passport for a period not less than six months.

Families of the residents, their drivers, house maids and companions are benefit from these facilities provided that they should present their labour cards and their passports are valid for a period not less than three months.

All nationalities resident in GCC are benefit from the online service.

For any additional questions you can contact ROP call center that can help with the process on these numbers +968 99537194, +968 91782640, +968 24290827

Oman police department have advised that visas on arrival are now an exception to the rule…

If you're planning for a trip to the Oman during the long weekend/holiday in UAE or visa run from UAE please note this: Royal Oman Police or ROP have advised that from November 2019 onwards, you now need to apply for your visa in advance.

‏تدعو ‎#شرطة_عمان_السلطانية الراغبين في زيارة السلطنة عبر المنافذ البرية ممن يتطلب حصولهم على تأشيرة دخول، ضرورة استخراج التأشيرة الإلكترونية قبل السفر إليها وذلك تسهيلاً لهم للدخول عبر مختلف المنافذ، وتوضح بأن الحصول على التأشيرة من المنافذ هي خدمة إضافية في أضيق الحدود. https://t.co/ogMOjqGYqA‎

#ROP kindly requests all visitors requiring visas traveling to #Oman to obtain their eVisas online before travel. This will facilitate easy and efficient processing at the border posts. Visa on arrival are now an exception to the rule and eVisas should be used wherever possible

Check out @RoyalOmanPolice’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/RoyalOmanPolice/status/1187778019181678597?s=09

Previously, most of the visitors had been able to get a visa on arrival at the border of the UAE and Oman, however in a Tweet on the ROP official account, Oman Police have said that visas on arrival will be an exceptional to the rule going forward.

This applies to people from all nationalities visiting the UAE’s neighbouring country.

According to the Tweet, the move to make eVisas compulsory is designed and aimed to “facilitate easy and efficient processing at the border posts”. eVisas will reduce the wait time at border posts mainly during the holiday season.

To apply for an eVisa ahead of time, travellers will need to visit the online government portal, upload the passport copy, photo, make payment of 5 Omani Rials (Dirhams 50) and complete the online booking form. This will get you a 10-day unsponsored tourist eVisa to visit Oman.

According to the ROP official website, Visa processing can take up to four days for visas to be issued.

Tourists who enter Dubai are eligible to get a tourist visa to visit Oman, you’ll just need to have at least six months validity on your passport.

Renew UAE Visa via smartphone

Renewing or cancelling family visa can now be done at the touch of a button, there will be no more paper forms or documents issues to fill as applying,  according to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).

The GDRFA sent out an advisory message to residents on 22nd October,2019 saying: "You can now get, renew, or cancel your spouse's and children's residency on DubaiNow app. To download, bit.ly/31lPYwV." The DubaiNow app is the first unified Dubai government services smart app offering a total of 88 Dubai government services and many more services yet to come.

Anyone can check the visa status or enquire about the status of any GDRFA service through this government application. The application also allows a user to get a new residency visa to bring a family member to Dubai or to view and manage family visa application very easily. And is any queries they can text mail to the authorities through the app.

Last updated on September 30, 2019 at 11:20 am