Only vaccinated Indians are allowed to travel to UAE from India with strict Covid guidelines.
Thanks to the Air bubble agreement between UAE and the Indian government, Indian citizens can travel back and forth to UAE.
The basic requirements are that you should be vaccinated and hold a valid negative RT-PCR test report not more than 72 hours from the traveling date.
You will be asked to go through a paid Rapid PCR test at the Indian Airport. Upon its suitable result, you would be okay to board the flight.
A GDRFA approval is a must. This approval means that you are allowed by the UAE govt to arrive in the country. You must fetch this approval a few days before your travel as it may take a while to get the approval.
Upon arrival in UAE, you would be undertaken a free PCR test at the airport.
Find out more below.
List of Vaccines Approved by UAE
- Sinopharm
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Oxford-AstraZeneca.
- Sputnik V
- Janssen (Johnson and Johnson)
- Moderna
- Novavax
Is Covishield accepted in UAE?
There has been confusion in Indian travelers if Covishield is accepted in UAE or not?
As of now, India has allowed only 3 vaccines; out of which Covishield and Covaxin are locally produced and Sputniv V produced by Russia.
Recently, Dubai Health Authority(DHA) has declared that Indian COVISHIELD vaccines are also accepted as they are just another name for the Indian manufactured version of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to Airline carriers like Emirates and Etihad, only those passengers are allowed to travel to UAE, who are inoculated in UAE only.
So, expats from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Srilanka, Uganda, etc; whose who are vaccinated in their home countries are not allowed to come to UAE for now, even though they have taken Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sputnik V, and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. (updated)
Is Covaxin accepted in UAE?
No, Covaxin is not accepted by DHA as of now.
How to Travel to UAE after
STEP-1: Check your visa if it is issued from Dubai, Sharjah, or Abu Dhabi.
If Dubai – Apply for GDRFA Approval here
If Sharjah or Abu Dhabi – Apply for ICA Approval here
STEP-2: Check your Vaccination Certificate.
Valid residency visas who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. They must have received the second vaccine dose at least 14 days prior to travel and hold a certificate that proves this.
UAE Approved Vaccines Below:
SputnikV, Janssen (Johnson and Johnson), Moderna, Novavax, OxfordUni AstraZeneca, PfizerBioNTech, Sinopharm
STEP-3: Once you receive approval from GDRFA\ICA then you can book the ticket from India or any approved country to UAE.
STEP-4: Before Flight, you should take 72 hours prior to PCR Test. Once the result came with QR code then you have to Register arrival in the portal. It is applicable for any emirates visa holders. This process is basically informing the immigration that you’re coming to the country directly also while registering you have to provide your address in UAE.
STEP-5: If the departure airport having the facility of Rapid PCR take it before the flight. (Optional)
Find all the links of ICA smart services above to register yourself before for hassle-free traveling.
Things to consider If traveling India to UAE Flight
If you are taking a flight from India to UAE then consider below for east traveling in India to UAE flight.
- Strict checking for all documents to avoid any fake documentation on VACCINATION CERTIFICATES.
- GDRFA approvals received only after the 5th of August are being accepted. Few who had approvals received before the 5th were delayed ( as they had to email DXB for approvals ) .
- GDRFA for DUBAI visas and ICA for other emirates ( PASSPORT, EMIRATES ID, and VACCINATION CERTIFICATE TO BE UPLOADED in case of GDRFA APPROVAL- this is valid for a month ).
- Strictly only those who are vaccinated in the UAE are allowed to board. A family who was vaccinated in India was sent back.
- They did an Antigen test at the Bangalore airport – costs INR 500 PER PERSON ( other airports where there is no Antigen testing, it is RAPID PCR TESTING) – In general, a RAPID PCR TEST FOUR HOURS BEFORE BOARDING THE FLIGHT.
- Huge checking at the check-in counters – checks for QR codes on vaccination certificates as well as PCR test reports .
- ARRIVE AT THR AIRPORT ATLEAST 6 hours in advance
- Kids under 12 years do not require PCR testing.
- Checking of all documents at the boarding gates too.
The cheapest flight to UAE from India
Due to the recent rush in traveling from India to UAE, the ticket price is skyrocketing.
Even one-way flights from India to UAE or vice versa touched around 2000 AED. It’s better to wait a bit to let the UAE to india flight fare decimate before planning a travel.
For India, to UAE flight rates you can consider Fly Dubai, Emirates, Indian carriers.
For the cheapest flight to UAE from India, you can consider an economical carrier like Indigo.
That’s all for now. Have a safe travel. If you enjoy the content please do comment and share.