Visa information
All delegates travelling to the UAE must be in possession of a valid passport, which must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry into the United Arab Emirates. All visas must be processed prior to arrival in the UAE. The only exceptions are nationals of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) States and the countries listed below.
Australia, Andorra, Austria, Brunei, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America and the Vatican State.
If your country of nationality appears on the above list, no advance visa arrangements are required to visit the UAE. Simply proceed to Immigration once in the UAE, where your passport will be stamped with a 30-day visit visa free of charge. This can be extended for an additional 30 days at an extra charge.
Delegates from all other countries will need to apply for a Tourist, Transit or Visit Visa prior to their trip.
The following options are available:
- Upon request, delegates flying with Etihad Airways may arrange a visit visa directly with the air company
- In most cases travel agency will be able to arrange visa application for you
- Most five and four star hotels can apply for tourist visas on behalf of guests who have booked a stay with them. Please note that not all hotels have this system in place. Make sure you check with your preferred hotel if they offer this service if you are staying outside the congress housing block. This service does not currently apply to guests staying in hotel apartments
- Apply for a visa through your nearest UAE embassy.
- Whatever option you will use to apply for your visa, please make sure you give yourself enough time for it to be approved, and note that Etihad, Hotels or Travel agency do not take responsibility if the visa is declined.
- WCN organizers are glad to inform you that MCI Middle East, WCN official housing partner, offers the visa processing service too. When booking a room via the WCN online system, you can choose this option in the website and pay for visa application together with the room booking.
