Ordinary Vanuatu passports aren't eligible for a visa on arrival in Dubai, so your visa needs to be approved before you check in for the first flight out of Port Vila. The application itself is entirely online: choose the visa that suits your trip, upload a passport scan and a photo, and the visa is issued electronically for you to travel with. If this is your first time, our walkthrough on how to apply for a Dubai visa online shows every part of the form before you start.
There's no embassy appointment, interview or courier involved. UAE visit visas are arranged through a sponsor inside the country, such as a licensed travel agency, an airline or a hotel. When you apply through Dubai Visitor Visa, we act as that sponsor and submit the file to immigration on your behalf, which is why you can complete everything from Port Vila, Luganville or wherever you happen to be living.
Ordinary, Diplomatic or a Second Passport
The visa requirement applies to the ordinary passport most citizens carry. The UAE lists Vanuatu among the nationalities whose visitors must hold an approved visa before travelling, and that applies just as much when you fly from somewhere other than Vanuatu.
Diplomatic passports follow a separate track. The UAE and Vanuatu have a bilateral agreement that exempts holders of Vanuatu diplomatic passports, along with some other official passport categories, from pre-entry visas. If you're travelling on government business with one of these, confirm the arrangement with your ministry's protocol office before the trip. A tourist visa isn't the right tool for an official passport that's already covered. Government staff travelling on ordinary passports, for example to attend a conference, still apply in the usual way, and the business visa is often the better fit for that kind of trip.
When Vanuatu Isn't Your Only Nationality
Vanuatu recognises dual citizenship, and plenty of passport holders, including many who became citizens while living overseas, carry a second nationality as well. If your other passport lets you enter the UAE visa-free or with a visa on arrival, travelling on it may save you the application entirely. Otherwise, apply with your Vanuatu passport.
Whichever you choose, use that one passport from check-in to departure. The visa is issued against a specific passport number, and both the airline and the immigration officer will match the two. The application also asks separately for your nationality and the country you're travelling from, so it works just as well if you live outside Vanuatu.
Matching the Visa to Your Trip
Travellers from Vanuatu tend to fall into a handful of patterns: a holiday of a week or two, a longer stay with relatives, a short business trip, or a stopover on a longer journey. Each has an option built for it.
| Visa | Stay allowed | Best suited to |
|---|
| 48-hour transit | 48 hours | A short stopover between two flights, with a confirmed onward booking |
| 96-hour transit | 96 hours | A stopover of up to four days on the way somewhere else |
| 7-day single entry | 7 days | A quick visit of up to a week |
| 14-day business | 14 days | Meetings, conferences and trade events |
| 30-day single entry | 30 days | A holiday or family visit with one arrival and one departure |
| 30-day multiple entry | 30 days | A month-long trip that includes leaving and coming back |
| 60-day single entry | 60 days | A long stay with family or friends |
| 60-day multiple entry | 60 days | Extended visits with travel in and out of the country |
A simple way to decide is to count your days in the country and how many times you'll arrive. One arrival and up to a month's stay points to the 30-day single entry visa, the usual pick for a holiday. If the visit runs longer, or you plan to leave the country and come back before flying home, a 60-day or multiple-entry option gives you that room. Every option carries one all-inclusive price, with the government fee already built in. Once your dates are clear, you can apply for the 30-day single entry visa or pick whichever option matches your plans.
The Long Way Round, Through Australia
There's no non-stop service between Vanuatu and the Gulf, so every trip to Dubai starts with a regional flight. Brisbane has the most frequent departures from Port Vila, Sydney has a few flights a week, and Auckland and Nadi are the other usual gateways. From the Australian hubs, long-haul flights continue to Dubai.
Changing planes in Australia is usually straightforward on a Vanuatu passport. Australia allows Vanuatu citizens to transit without an Australian visa if the onward flight leaves within eight hours, you hold a confirmed ticket out of Australia, and you stay in the international transit area. A layover longer than eight hours changes that, and so do separate bookings that make you collect your bags and check in again through Australian immigration. Either way, you'd need an Australian visa. Where you can, book the regional and long-haul flights together with your luggage checked through to Dubai. Connecting in Auckland or Nadi instead? Look up that country's transit rules for your passport too, because they may differ from Australia's.
When your boarding passes and bags go all the way to Dubai, expect the airline to check your Dubai visa at Port Vila. That means the visa has to be approved before the first leg, not merely before the flight into Dubai. Keep a printed copy with your passport, and the file saved on your phone.
Breaking a Longer Journey in Dubai
Some travellers stop in Dubai on the way to Europe for study, family or work. If you're only changing planes and stay inside the airport, you don't pass through UAE immigration. To step out between flights, a transit visa of 48 or 96 hours covers the stopover. Both depend on genuine onward travel, so you'll need a confirmed booking to a destination other than the one you flew in from, and neither can be extended once you arrive. For a week or more in the city, a tourist visa suits the trip better. Planning to stop again on the way home? Ask our team which option covers both dates before you apply.
What to Have Ready Before You Apply
The core of the application is short. You'll need:
- A clear scan of your passport's photo page, with the whole page visible and no glare, from a passport with six months or more remaining after your travel date.
- A recent colour photo against a plain, light background, with your face fully visible.
- Your travel details, including planned dates and where you'll be staying. A flight booking or reservation is enough at this stage.
Staying with relatives or friends who live in the UAE rather than in a hotel? Their address and a copy of their Emirates ID can take the place of a hotel booking. You can pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. Prices are set in US dollars, and a card held in vatu is converted by your bank at its own rate.
A passport nearing the six-month line should be renewed before you apply, not after. The visa is tied to the passport number you upload, so it should be the passport you'll actually carry. Double-check that names on the form match the passport exactly, including any middle names, because the airline compares the two at check-in.
For a business trip, keep your meeting or event details to hand, since an invitation or proof of the event may be requested. A visit visa covers meetings and conferences, not paid work in the country. Every application is assessed by UAE immigration, and a clear, complete file is the best way to keep it moving without follow-up requests.
Timing the Application Around Your Flights
Long-haul fares from the Pacific are often booked months in advance, and the visa doesn't need to keep pace. Each visa has to be used within a set window, and your enter-by date is printed on the visa itself, so applying very early can leave you with a visa that lapses before you fly. Check the validity listed for the option you choose and apply once your travel dates sit comfortably inside it.
Work back from your departure from Port Vila rather than your arrival in Dubai, because the visa needs to be ready at the first check-in desk. Each option lists its expected processing time, which makes planning simple. Once your application is in, the visa status tracker shows where it stands; all you need is the application ID from your acknowledgement email.
When the Visa Arrives
Open the visa as soon as it lands in your inbox and check four things against your passport: the spelling of your name, the passport number, the visa type, and the enter-by date. A mistake is far easier to sort out while you're still at home than at an airport check-in desk. Should anything be wrong, contact our team straight away with your application ID, well before you travel.
Flights sometimes move after the visa is approved. You won't need a new one as long as you still enter by the date printed on it and leave within your permitted stay. A trip that slips past the enter-by date needs a fresh application.
Travelling With Other Pacific Passports
Group trips from the region often mix passports, and the UAE doesn't treat Pacific nationalities the same way. On the UAE government's visa exemption list, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru passport holders can enter without arranging a visa beforehand, while Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu passport holders need one before travel.
It's an easy detail to miss when everyone is flying out together. A Ni-Vanuatu delegate travelling alongside Fijian or Solomon Islands colleagues still needs a visa even though they don't. Check every traveller's passport against the list before anyone books, add each person who needs a visa to the application, including children on their own passports, and recheck close to departure, since the list can change. A baby who doesn't yet have a passport will need one issued before their visa application can go in.
The same logic works the other way for the Australians, New Zealanders and French citizens who live in Vanuatu. Their own passports decide the rule, not their residence in Port Vila, and all three nationalities are currently listed as able to visit without arranging a visa first.
Once You've Landed
At the arrivals hall, have your passport, a copy of the visa and the address where you're staying ready for the immigration desk. Your permitted stay begins on the day you enter, not the day the visa was issued, so a 30-day visa gives you 30 days from arrival. Leaving the country uses up a single entry visa; moving around between Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates does not.
To stay longer, you can arrange an extension from inside the country, provided your current visa is eligible and you apply before your permitted stay ends. Starting a few days early leaves time for processing. The 30-day extension adds another month without a trip out, and a 60-day extension suits longer family visits.
Coming Back Another Time
A visa covers the trip it was issued for, and earlier visits don't carry over, so a second holiday next season starts with a fresh application. For someone travelling in and out several times within a short period, perhaps for a run of business meetings, a multiple-entry visa saves you applying for each arrival. Just keep an eye on the enter-by date, because re-entries only work while the visa itself is still valid.
When your dates are settled, the next step is choosing the visa that fits and sending your passport scan and photo. Where your situation doesn't fit neatly, such as an official passport, a renewal in progress or a group on mixed passports, talk to our visa team before you pay, and we'll point you to the right route.
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