In a bid to contain the spread of the pandemic, Dubai has announced a set of changes in its travel rules such that passengers seeking to enter the emirate from foreign nations are tested for COVID-19 on their arrival at the airport. Recently, Dubai authorities have either altered or dropped the pre-flight COVID-19 test requirements for passengers in up to 56 nations ahead of boarding the flights from the country of origin.

However, there are several more countries where passengers have to undergo "double testing" to limit the spread of COVID-19. Passengers have to show a negative COVID-19 test result at the check-in before boarding the flight. Later, they will be screened on their arrival in the emirate. After leaving the airport, passengers will have to quarantine themselves in a hotel or home until their test results arrive.

In a recent development, Emirates Airlines has confirmed that tourists coming from the UK and Germany can now be tested on their arrival in Dubai. With the winter seasons approaching, tourists' influx is likely to increase in the emirate. Taking this into account, the Dubai International Airport is working on improving its testing capacities in the coming days to manage the passenger inflow.

Earlier, Dubai authorities had mandated almost all passengers and residents travelling to the Emirate to perform a PCR COVID-19 test in their country of origin. Only if tested negative, they were allowed to board the flight to the Emirate. However, this requirement was later phased out.

Significantly, there were no changes suggested to the federal entry requirements to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or the Northern Emirates in the announcement made on Monday.

Passengers travelling to Dubai from these countries have to follow these entry rules:

United States (New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Seattle), United Kingdom, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, South Korea, South Africa, Somalia, Singapore, Seychelles, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Poland, Oman, Norway, Nigeria, New Zealand, Netherlands, Mauritius, Maldives, Malaysia, Macedonia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Latvia, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Indonesia, Iceland, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, China, Canada, Bulgaria, Brunei, Brazil, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Austria, Australia, Armenia, Algeria.

For tourists: They must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate performed maximum of 96 hours before departure, except passengers travelling from Germany and the UK who have the option of taking the COVID-19 test on their arrival in Dubai

For UAE residents: They can either present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result valid 96 hours between the date of the test and their departure or can take a test on arrival at the airport.

For passengers transiting from these countries, a COVID-19 PCR test is not required unless it is mandated by the destination country.

Other passengers travelling from these countries have to follow these entry rules:

Zimbabwe, Zambia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, United States (California, Florida, Texas), Ukraine, Uganda, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Syria, South Sudan, Somaliland, Slovakia, Senegal, Rwanda, Russia, Romania, Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Morocco, Montenegro, Moldova, Malta, Lebanon, Kenya, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Iran, India, Hungary, Guinea, Greece, Ghana, Georgia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Djibouti, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Argentina, Angola, Afghanistan