UAE Visa Fees, Security Deposits & Refund Guide
Understand the difference between government fees, Emirates ID charges, medical costs, financial guarantees, service-centre charges and employer-side work-permit costs.
Figures below are based on current official ICP and GDRFA Dubai service information checked for 2026. The exact payable amount depends on the selected service and circumstances.
Why fee tables are often misleading
ICP and GDRFA Dubai publish service-specific fee schedules. A residence permit, five-year tourist visa, visit visa and Golden Residence transaction can each have different components.
This guide therefore does not manufacture one “total UAE visa price”. It identifies the current published components and explains which amounts are fees, which are refundable guarantees and which can be separate provider or employment costs.
Residence Permit & Emirates ID — Official Component Fees
| Service component | Current published amount | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Residence permit application fee | AED 100 | ICP service fee shown for the applicable residence-permit service. |
| Residence permit issuance fee | AED 100 per year of residence | The total depends on the duration and category of the residence permit. |
| ICP smart-service fee | AED 100 | Published smart-service charge on the ICP residence-permit service. |
| Emirates ID issuance for residents | AED 100 per year of residence | This is separate from the residence-permit issuance fee. |
| Emirates ID smart-service fee | AED 100 | ICP publishes this separately from the resident ID issuance fee. |
| Urgent Emirates ID service | AED 150 additional where offered | ICP lists an urgent service fee at applicable Authority service centres. |
Fee terminology — what are you actually paying?
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Application fee | Charge for submitting or processing the application itself. |
| Issuance fee | Charge for issuing the visa, permit or residence document. |
| Smart-service fee | Electronic service charge shown separately on many ICP transactions. |
| Financial guarantee / security deposit | A separate amount required for certain categories that can be refundable when the service conditions are met. |
| Medical fitness fee | Medical-centre charges for residence-related medical fitness testing. Pricing depends on the provider, service and speed of service and should not be presented as one universal UAE government fee. |
| Typing/service-centre charge | A service-provider or authorised-channel charge that can be separate from the government fee. It should not be labelled as an ICP/GDRFA government fee unless the authority expressly publishes it as such. |
Typical residence-cost components
- Residence-permit application and issuance fees.
- Emirates ID issuance fee and smart-service fee.
- Entry permit or status-adjustment fees where applicable.
- Medical fitness examination fees through the authorised medical channel.
- Health insurance where required by the residence category.
- Courier, typing or authorised service-centre charges where used.
- Category-specific financial guarantees or deposits where applicable.
Government fee vs package price
A typing centre, travel company or immigration-services provider may quote one bundled amount. That bundle can include government charges plus service fees, medical charges, courier, insurance or other costs.
International Money Transfer & FX Rates
Sending funds for tuition, rent, or immigration fees? Retail banks sneak 2.5%–4% into exchange rates. Check today's real mid-market rate first.
Current tourist-visa examples
GDRFA Dubai — 30-day single-entry tourist visa
Current GDRFA Dubai service-card fee for that exact service. It does not represent every 30-day tourist visa anywhere in the UAE.
GDRFA Dubai — 60-day single-entry tourist visa
Current GDRFA Dubai service-card fee for that exact service.
ICP — 5-year multiple-entry tourist visa
AED 100 application + AED 500 issuance + AED 100 smart service + AED 3,000 guarantee + AED 20 guarantee deposit. The guarantee is subject to refund conditions.
5-year tourist visa: fee vs refundable guarantee
The five-year multiple-entry tourist visa is a good example of why the terms should not be mixed together. ICP currently lists AED 100 application, AED 500 issuance and AED 100 smart-service fees, plus a AED 3,000 financial guarantee and AED 20 guarantee-deposit fee.
| Component | Amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | AED 100 | No — service fee |
| Issuance fee | AED 500 | No — issuance fee |
| Smart-service fee | AED 100 | No — service charge |
| Financial guarantee | AED 3,000 | Potentially, subject to service conditions |
| Guarantee deposit fee | AED 20 | Not the AED 3,000 guarantee itself |
How to handle a visa-security-deposit refund
Why your final payable amount may differ
Employment visa costs: keep employer-side charges separate
Work permits and recruitment costs for employees fall under the employment/labour framework rather than being one generic consumer visa price. For employees covered by UAE private-sector labour law, recruitment and employment costs placed on the employer should be treated as employer-side obligations. The exact work-permit service, establishment classification and current MoHRE charge must be checked against the employer’s transaction.
Related UAE Tools & Guides
2026 VerifiedFrequently Asked Questions
Official fee and service sources
These links are included so readers can verify the live government fee for the exact transaction. The page itself is not government certified or “verified”.