Deep breath. Here's the answer.

Eligible US regular-passport holders receive a tourist visa on arrival in the UAE without applying in advance. You can stay up to 90 days within 180 days counted from first entry. Carry a passport valid for at least 6 months after arrival and a confirmed return or onward ticket. The US State Department advises reconsidering travel because of terrorism and armed conflict.

Key facts

For United States passport holders, tourism or short business trips.

You may need a visa if…

• This answer covers the ordinary US tourist visa-on-arrival scheme. Other passports, work, business, study, residence and other routes require separate advice.
• Visa on arrival: up to 90 days, continuously or across visits, within 180 days counted from first entry. Do not treat each arrival as a new 90-day allowance.
• Regular, non-emergency US passport valid for at least 6 months beyond arrival, with an M or F sex marker. The UAE does not accept the 12-page US emergency passport or an X sex marker for travel to, in or through the country.
• State warns that some travellers with M or F markers have been refused entry after previously entering with a different marker, or where officials questioned the marker. Meeting the document wording does not guarantee entry.
• Required: a round-trip airline ticket or a confirmed ticket to another destination (UAE Embassy in Washington).
• The UAE Embassy describes this 90-day scheme as non-renewable. State's detailed guidance says an extension may be requested at immigration's discretion. Do not rely on an extension or a border run; confirm any different permission with UAE immigration before your allowance expires.
• For direct travel from the US, CDC and State say no entry vaccination is required. Arrivals from yellow-fever-risk countries, including airport transits over 12 hours, require yellow-fever vaccination proof from age 9 months. Ask a travel-health professional about your route and any medical exemption.
• UAE aviation guidance also lists airport-specific health-certificate conditions for arrivals from infected areas, including Abu Dhabi and Fujairah. If travelling from an outbreak area or using another port, confirm the specific port-health rules before departure.
• State says cash, financial instruments, precious metals or valuable stones exceeding AED 60,000 must be declared on entry or exit through the UAE's official customs system. This is a declaration threshold, not an amount you must carry.
• Take travel insurance covering medical care and evacuation, and check conflict-related exclusions. State warns that unpaid medical bills can lead to an exit ban.
• State's Level 3 advisory cites terrorism and armed conflict, with regional aviation risks. Restrictions described for US government employees at military bases and critical energy sites are employee-specific, not a blanket tourist visa ban.
• Entry and departure remain subject to UAE authorities; do not overstay. The UAE Embassy states AED 50 per day for overstaying the 90-day allowance.

Before you travel

• ✓Read the current State Department Level 3 advisory and airline/airport updates before booking or departure.
• ✓Regular, non-emergency US passport valid for at least 6 months beyond arrival, with an M or F sex marker. The UAE does not accept the 12-page US emergency passport or an X sex marker for travel to, in or through the country.
• ✓Required: a round-trip airline ticket or a confirmed ticket to another destination (UAE Embassy in Washington).
• ✓Count previous UAE visits against the 90 days within 180 from first entry; use the official immigration calculator and check your permission on arrival.
• ✓Receive the visa on arrival under this scheme; do not assume an extension or a border run resets the allowance.
• ✓For direct travel from the US, CDC and State say no entry vaccination is required. Arrivals from yellow-fever-risk countries, including airport transits over 12 hours, require yellow-fever vaccination proof from age 9 months. Ask a travel-health professional about your route and any medical exemption.
• ✓Check airport-specific health rules if arriving from an outbreak area, and declare covered valuables exceeding AED 60,000.
• ✓Take medical/evacuation insurance appropriate to your trip and check exclusions.
• ✓Enroll in STEP and have an emergency departure plan that does not depend on US government help.

Common questions