Residents in the UAE travelling to the United Kingdom for tourism, medical treatment, study and other purposes will have to shell out higher visa costs from next month.
The fees for visas have increased by around 10 per cent for different categories.
From April 9, 2025, UAE travellers applying for an up to 6-month visit visa will have to pay £127 compared to the current fee of £115, an increase of £12 or 10.4 per cent, according to the UK Government.
Similarly, the cost for an up to two-year visit visa will be raised by £43 to £475; up to a five-year visa cost will be hiked by £77 to £848 and up to a 10-year visa’s price will be raised by £96 to £1,059.
However, Emiratis travelling to the UK can apply under the Electronic Travel Authorisation. An ETA currently costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to six months at a time over two years or until the holder’s passport expires — whichever is sooner. From April 9, 2025, an ETA will cost £16.
A large number of UAE citizens and expat residents travel to the European country for travel and tourism every year, especially during the summer vacations. Though many other new destinations in Eastern Europe and CIS countries have become popular in the UAE, the UK remains one of the most sought-after tourism countries for UAE citizens and expat residents.
In addition to the UAE, the UK is a popular destination across other neighbouring GCC countries as well.
Visa appointment in a week
Sudheesh TP, general manager at Deira Travel, said more people are attracted to the UK because visa application slots are easier to access than in Schengen countries.
“There are no long waiting queues, and the UK visa appointments are available in a week’s time,” he said, adding that UAE has strong connectivity with the UK as Emirates, Etihad Airways, and other airlines operate multiple daily flights between the two countries.
“It is not only London Heathrow Airport, but other UK airports are also seeing increasing frequency by the airlines because demand is growing. In addition London, Glasgow, Birmingham, and all other destinations are also doing well as far as air traffic is concerned,” said Sudheesh.
Subair Thekepurathvalappil, senior manager at Wisefox Tourism, said people prefer the UK because it gives multiple entries starting from six months visas, unlike other European countries, which give single entry visas.
He added that there are no long waiting times also for the UK visa.
“The waiting time is much less compared to Schengen countries because the UK has three types of processes – a normal process which may take 3-4 weeks; then there is a priority option of five days if you pay additional fee, and if you pay even higher, then you’ll get the visa processed in 24 hours,” he said, adding that if people pay some additional fee, they can keep their passport with themselves during the visa process,” he said.
Subair pointed out that the UK is also famous among UAE parents who regularly travel to the UK because their children are in the UK for higher studies.
“Tourism is also an extremely competitive global industry; visitors have a lot of choices, and we face fierce competition, especially from our European neighbours. To drive tourism to Britain, supporting the UK Government’s ambition to reach 50 million visitors annually by 2030, our international campaigns are focused on markets showing growth including Australia and the US, as well as our major European markets and the valuable Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries,” Patricia Yates, CEO of VisitBritain, has said.
These new fees will apply to tourists applying for UK visas from other countries as well.
VisitBritain has projected that the UK will record 43.4 million visits in 2025, up five per cent on the 41.2 million expected in 2024. It forecasts spending by international visitors in the UK in 2025 to reach £33.7 billion, up seven per cent.
Similarly, fees for visas for academic and private medical treatment will increase by £20 to £220. Direct airside transit fee will rise by £4 to £39.
