An Armenian passport is enough to visit Dubai. Under a mutual waiver agreed between Yerevan and Abu Dhabi, Armenian citizens may enter, leave and transit the UAE with no visa and no entry fee, for stays totalling up to 90 days in each 180-day period. Armenia also sits on the UAE's list of nationalities admitted on arrival, so check-in staff in Yerevan and the officers at the arrivals desk work from the same rule.
The waiver is reciprocal, so Emiratis can also visit Armenia without a visa. For Armenian travellers, the remaining homework is the passport itself, the choice of airport, and any companions whose passports aren't Armenian.
Checking Your Armenian Passport
The requirement is simple: half a year of validity beyond your landing date. Armenia's foreign ministry has clarified that validity is read from the data pages, and that the round stamp on page four of older passports is no longer needed for travel. If the printed expiry date is too close, replace the passport before you book, rather than hoping a stamp or note will carry it.
Your Armenian identity card, handy at home and on some regional routes, won't get you into Dubai, because the Emirates admit only Gulf citizens on ID cards. Bring the passport. Every child travelling needs their own, and a child leaving Armenia with only one parent ought to carry an English note of approval from the other, plus a copy of that parent's identity page, which Dubai officers sometimes request.
Renewing a Passport Before the Trip
Adult Armenian passports are issued for ten years, but children's run for shorter periods: one issued to a child under six lasts just three years, and passports for boys over 16 expire at age 19. Younger family members are therefore the likeliest to fall inside the six-month margin, so look at every expiry date once the trip is first mentioned.
Armenians living in the Emirates can apply for a new passport at the Consulate General in Dubai, attending personally after booking a slot. Papers issued outside Armenia need an apostille or consular legalisation, with an Armenian translation where they're in another language, and men of military age are asked for their military documents. Leave enough time for processing before any trip home or onward.
Armenians With a Second Citizenship
Armenia permits dual citizenship, and many Armenians also hold Russian, American, French, Lebanese, Syrian or Iranian nationality. Decide which passport to use before booking. Russian, American and French passports likewise enter Dubai without a visa, so either document works. Lebanese, Syrian and Iranian passports, on the other hand, require a visa approved ahead of the trip, which usually makes the Armenian passport the easier option for those communities.
Once chosen, stick with it: your ticket, check-in and both passport controls in Dubai should all involve the same document, so your entry and exit records line up.
Flights From Yerevan
Non-stop flights connect Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan with the Emirates. flydubai serves Dubai International, close to the older districts of Deira and Bur Dubai, while Air Arabia flies to its home base in Sharjah, which suits travellers staying in the northern part of Dubai or with family in Sharjah itself. The waiver applies nationwide, so the emirate you land in makes no difference to entry. If you fly into Sharjah but are staying in Dubai, allow for the road journey between the two cities, which can take far longer at rush hour than the distance suggests.
Plenty of Armenians also pass through Dubai on their way to Asia, Africa or Australia. Changing planes without leaving the transit zone involves no passport control at all, while a stopover with nights spent in the city counts toward your 90 days like any other visit. If you're continuing to a third country, check its own entry rules for Armenian passports before you go.
Counting 90 Days in 180
The waiver uses a rolling window. On any date during your trip, look back across the previous 180 days: your days inside the UAE across that stretch can't exceed 90. Thirty days over the New Year followed by six weeks in the spring comes to 72, leaving 18 for another trip inside the same window. Regular visitors find it easiest to note every arrival and departure in their phone. Staying beyond the limit triggers daily fines at departure, so plan your last flight out before day 90.
Packing Gifts From Home
Armenian brandy, dried fruit and sweets are favourite gifts for friends in the Emirates. Passengers arriving in Dubai may bring up to four litres of alcohol free of duty, and personal gifts are exempt as long as their value stays under AED 3,000. Sharjah, though, is a dry emirate with much tighter rules on alcohol, so if you're landing at Sharjah airport or staying with relatives there, leave the brandy behind or hand it to someone in Dubai. Bottles bought before airport security belong in checked luggage, not your cabin bag. Anyone carrying cash worth more than AED 60,000 must declare it on arrival.
Companions Who Aren't Armenian Citizens
Many Armenian households include people of other nationalities, and the UAE judges each traveller on their own passport rather than their country of residence. These are the combinations families in Armenia raise most often:
| Passport | Entering Dubai |
|---|
| Armenian | Visa-free, 90 days in any 180 |
| Russian, Georgian, Chinese | Six-month arrival permit, 90 days' stay |
| Ukrainian | 30 days on arrival |
| Iranian, Lebanese, Syrian | Visa needed before the flight |
| Indian student resident in Armenia | Visa needed before the flight |
That last row concerns the many Indian students at Armenian medical universities. India's special 14-day arrival route depends on holding a visa or residence permit from America, Britain, an EU country or several other named states, and Armenia isn't among them. Without one of those documents, a student must arrange a visa before travelling; our overview of the Indian residence-permit route sets out which documents qualify.
Russians who've relocated to Armenia keep the allowance that comes with their Russian passport, so a Russian spouse or colleague can normally travel on arrival alongside you. Relatives from Iran, Lebanon or Syria without Armenian citizenship should apply in good time.
Armenian citizens who live abroad, whether in Moscow, Los Angeles or Marseille, use the same waiver on their Armenian passport. Where they live makes no difference; the nationality in the passport they present is what counts.
Travelling on a Package Tour
Plenty of Armenians book Dubai through tour operators in Yerevan, often as packages with flights and hotels included. Each traveller is still admitted on their own passport, so the operator will need passport details for everyone well before departure. Anyone in the group who isn't an Armenian citizen should confirm their entry rules early, since the package price won't include a visa they turn out to need, and the airline can't board them without one.
Arranging a Visa for Someone in Your Group
Most holidays of a month or less fit our 30-day single entry visa. Families planning a longer stay usually opt for the 60-day single entry visa. Business colleagues travelling with you for meetings would normally take the 14-day business visa. Listed prices already incorporate the government charge, and a single application can hold your whole party.
You'll need a legible image of each passport's personal details page, a recent photo with a plain light backdrop, and the Dubai address where they'll stay. With flights confirmed, begin the visa application and watch it move forward on our visa status checker; approval comes through by email. A visa must be used before its entry deadline, so applying around a month before departure suits most plans.
Visiting Family Who Live in the Emirates
Many visitors from Armenia stay with relatives already living in Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi. On an Armenian passport there's no invitation or sponsor to arrange; just carry your hosts' address and phone number, as the officer may ask where you'll be. If a relative from Iran, Lebanon or Syria wants to join the gathering, the family member resident in the UAE may be able to sponsor their visit visa, subject to the country's conditions, or the visitor can apply through us instead. Long family visits still count toward your own 90 days, however warm the welcome, so keep an eye on the calendar.
Working, Studying and Doing Business
The waiver covers holidays, family visits, meetings, trade shows and conferences, but not employment. If you're attending a trade fair or a series of meetings, keep the registration or invitations in your hand luggage should an officer ask about the reason for your visit. Taking up any job in Dubai means your employer must first obtain employment approval and residency for you; a visit is a good way to attend interviews, not to begin work, even on trial.
Companies sending mixed teams from Yerevan to a Dubai trade fair should check each person's passport early on. Armenian and Russian staff travel on arrival, while an Iranian or Indian colleague will need the business visa arranged beforehand.
Students admitted to a UAE university are sponsored for their visa by the institution. Entrepreneurs and investors can explore long-term residence, including the Dubai Golden Visa, which removes the 90-day limit for those who qualify.
Choosing When to Travel
Yerevan's winters are cold and often snowy, and Dubai's cooler season, roughly November to March, is when a trip feels most like an escape. Flights fill up around New Year and Armenian Christmas on 6 January, when families travel to see each other, so book early for those dates. Dubai's summer works the other way: daytime highs regularly pass 40°C, and visits between June and September go best with sightseeing planned for the cooler hours. Winter events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival also push up hotel prices, so book accommodation early if your dates overlap.
Money and Payments
The dram floats freely while the dirham is fixed against the US dollar, so the exchange rate between them moves with the dram; check it shortly before you go. Card payments work almost everywhere in the city, but a card issued only on Armenia's domestic ArCa network won't function abroad, so bring a Visa or Mastercard and tell your bank about the trip. Some Armenian banks issue cards that carry both the ArCa logo and an international one, so check which yours has. Dollars and euros are easy to change at Dubai's licensed exchange houses if you'd rather carry cash.
Hospital and clinic bills for visitors are paid privately, so buy travel insurance valid in the UAE with medical evacuation included, especially for older relatives and long stays. Anyone taking prescription medicine should pack it in the pharmacy's packaging with the prescription; some narcotic and psychotropic medicines require prior approval from the UAE's health ministry, whose list is worth checking before departure.
The Armenian Community and Consular Help
Armenians have lived in the Emirates since the community's first arrivals decades ago, many of them from Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Russia. St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in Sharjah, the first Armenian church in the country, remains the community's focal point, and an Armenian weekend school in Sharjah teaches language, history and music. For official matters, Armenia's diplomatic mission is in Abu Dhabi, with a Consulate General in Dubai's Jumeirah Lakes Towers. The consulate sees visitors only by prior appointment, Monday to Thursday mornings, takes calls in the afternoons, and answers email at consdubai@mfa.am.
Report a lost or stolen passport to the Dubai Police promptly; keep the police paperwork, then ask the consulate about a document for travelling home. Before leaving Armenia, photograph the passport's main page and keep the picture somewhere other than your phone.
For most Armenian travellers, getting ready for Dubai takes only a few minutes: confirm the passport's expiry date, pick your airport, and look at the passport of everyone in your party. If a relative or colleague needs a visa, reach our visa team and share their travel dates.
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