Abu Dhabi and Dubai have started welcoming tourists in the emirates, months after suspending visas and restricting international travel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of hiatus, Dubai reopened its borders to tourists in July while Abu Dhabi and other emirates started issuing tourist visas in the last week of September.

However, tourists have to follow different rules and regulations before entering in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Passengers visiting Dubai:

For the first step, visitors are required to check whether a visa is required to enter the Emirates. They can check the prerequisites at www.visitdubai.com.

Passengers have also been advised to cross-check all departure requirements necessary in the country they are coming from to the emirates. It can be checked here.

For passengers whose final destination is the UAE, a negative COVID-19 test performed 96 hours before the departure of their flight is mandatory. It must be a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test, adding that results from antibody tests and home texting kits will not be accepted by airport authorities.

Furthermore, all tourists must provide a negative test certificate from an official medical facility printed in either English or Arabic at the time of check-in. Airport authorities will not accept certificates presented through SMS or digitally on the phones.

Passengers transiting to other countries through Dubai may not have to perform a PCR test before boarding the flight. People will have to undergo the test if they are travelling from the following countries or if their final destination mandates it:

Asia: India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Nepal

Americas: the United States (California, Texas and Florida), Argentina, Brazil and Chile

Middle East and Africa: Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Tanzania, Syria, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Uganda, Sudan, Zambia, Kenya, Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, Senegal, Egypt, Eritrea, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Lebanon, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Israel.

Europe: Czech Republic, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Moldova, Montenegro, Malta, Georgia, Ukraine.

A list of approved laboratories for COVID-19 test has been issued by the UAE, however, passengers can visit another lab as well that has been certified by the country of origin. But passengers flying from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh are required to perform a test by a lab approved by the UAE only. The list of UAE-approved labs can be found here.

At the same time, all passengers are required to complete a health declaration form at the check-in of the flight.

Passengers whose final destination is Dubai will also have to fill a quarantine undertaking form. They will be provided with the form on the plane, which has to be handed over to the Dubai Health Authority staff upon arrival. For passengers providing a negative COVID-19 test, there are no quarantine requirements in the emirate. Moreover, passengers with a moderate or severe disability and children under 12 years of age have been exempted from taking the COVID-19 tests.

Depending on the countries they are travelling from, certain passengers may have to undergo a COVID-19 test on their arrival in the emirate. Passengers taking a PCR test upon arrival in the emirate will have to remain either at a hotel or the residence they are staying at until their test results arrive. As per the Dubai Health Authority guidelines, people who receive a positive test result will be required to isolate themselves to contain the spread of the virus.

All visitors are also required to download the Covid19 – DXB Smart App before their arrival to the Emirate

Passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi from Dubai

It is mandatory for tourists to stay in 14 days of quarantine in Abu Dhabi which will be monitored using a wristband. But, the number of days in quarantine will depend upon the number of days the tourists has been in the UAE. If a tourist lands in Dubai six days prior to visiting Abu Dhabi, it will mean that they will have to quarantine only for eight days in Abu Dhabi.

People arriving in Dubai and then travelling directly to Abu Dhabi will be required to present a negative PCR test result, performed within the previous 96 hours. As per the Emirates, they are also required to undergo a diffractive phase interferometry (DPI) test at the border where they will be fitted with a wristband for monitoring quarantine. After 12 days, a mandatory second test will be taken. If it shows negative results, then the wristband will be removed after 14 days.

People who have been in the UAE for longer than 14 days and then travelling to Abu Dhabi are not required to quarantine themselves on arrival at the Emirate. However, they will have to take a DPI test at the border and then a PCR test on the sixth day of their stay in Abu Dhabi if they intend to stay longer than six days.

It is important to note that the authorities will impose financial penalties on the passengers if they do not undergo the mandatory tests.

Tourists departing from Dubai: PCR tests for COVID-19 are required in accordance with the regulatory policies of the countries a passenger is travelling to. Passengers can check the necessary requirements at the Emirates airline website.

Tourists travelling directly to Abu Dhabi:

A negative PCR test result must be presented at check-in by those flying directly to Abu Dhabi. Those testing positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to board the flight. People travelling to Abu Dhabi, including children, are required to undergo another test on their arrival, following which they will quarantine themselves for 14 days at a government facility or a hotel or their relative's home. The location can be decided by the authorities.

People quarantining at a home or in a hotel will be fitted with an electronic wristband which will monitor their movement and ensure that they remain in their rooms at all time during the isolation period. The wristband will be provided by the authorities free of charge.

On the 12th day of their quarantine, a second PCR test will be conducted, the cost of which will be borne by the tourist. To carry out the test, the tourist will be contacted by a representative from Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre to make an appointment at an Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) centre. If the COVID-19 test generates negative results, SEHA Centre will remove the wristband on the 14th day.

Any person who fails to comply with the necessary regulations will be fined by the authorities.

Tourists leaving Abu Dhabi:

Any person flying out of Abu Dhabi to other countries through Etihad airlines will have to undergo a PCR test and it must be conducted within 96 hours of the departure.

It is important to note that Etihad Airways tickets booked for international travel between October 1 and December 31, 2020, includes the cost of the COVID-19 test. Passengers travelling to China have been exempted from the requirements.

While first-class and business-class passengers can choose to conduct the test in their homes by booking an appointment through the airline's website, others can get themselves tested at Life Medical Diagnostic Centre’s network of collection centres. The COVID-19 tests have to be conducted by passengers between 48 and 96 hours before departure.