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A Cyprus visa from Dubai is a short stay visa that UAE residents with a visa-required passport apply for at the VFS Global Cyprus centre in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The adult fee is AED 390, with a AED 29 VFS service fee. VFS says plan for at least 15 working days. Emirati citizens do not need a visa.
Cyprus is not a Schengen stamp
Cyprus has its own short stay visa and its own list of visa-required nationalities. That surprises people who hold a UAE residence permit and assume it works like Georgia or Armenia. It does not. Your passport decides.
There is one useful link to Schengen. VFS states that holders of a valid multiple entry Schengen visa do not have to apply for a Cyprus visa. If you already hold that kind of visa, save your money and check the dates. The VFS page says nothing about single entry Schengen visas in that exemption, so do not assume they count.
For the exact list of passports that need a visa, use the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs page on countries whose nationals must hold a visa. We could not open it directly when we checked, so read it yourself or send us your passport and we read it with you.
Cyprus visa fees from Dubai
| Applicant | Visa fee | VFS service fee |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | AED 390 | AED 29 |
| Child 6 to 12 | AED 200 | AED 29 |
| Child under 6 | Free | AED 29 |
| Reduced rate nationalities | AED 160 | AED 29 |
Source: VFS Global, Cyprus visa information for the UAE, checked . The AED 160 rate applies to nationals of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine. The service fee line for children is not stated separately, so ask before you book a family.
We found only one Dubai agency that publishes a price for this visa, so we show no agency price range.
The three visa categories
VFS lists three short stay categories for Cyprus: tourism, business, and friends and family. Each allows up to 90 days per 6 months, or whatever the visa itself says. Pick the one that matches your real purpose, because each has a different document checklist.
- Tourism: hotel or rental booking, a travel plan, flights, funds.
- Business: an invitation from the Cyprus company and proof of your own employment.
- Friends and family: an invitation from the person you visit, with their details. Expect more paper from the host.
Mixing categories is a quick way to a refusal. A tourist trip with a vague invitation attached looks like neither.
Where you apply
All applications are made in person by the applicant, by appointment, at VFS Global. The centres are in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There is no walk-in line for Cyprus files that we have seen on the VFS page, so book first.
Two nationalities are handled differently. Syrian and Turkish passport holders apply directly at the Cyprus Embassy in Abu Dhabi, not at VFS. If that is you, we can check your documents, but the embassy takes the file.
Processing time
VFS gives a minimum of 15 working days as the standard. Where extra review or supporting documents are needed it can extend to 45 working days. The page also tells applicants to submit at least 15 working days before the planned travel date. In practice that means you should not buy a non-refundable flight before you hold the passport back.
There is one odd line on the VFS page: each applicant can submit within 80 days of the date of return from Cyprus. We read it as a limit on how early you can file, but the wording is unclear. Ask the centre or us before you book far ahead.
Documents to prepare
- Passport valid for the whole stay, with the pages the centre asks for.
- UAE residence visa and Emirates ID, valid beyond your return.
- Completed application form and recent photo.
- Flights and accommodation for the full trip.
- Bank statements and an employer letter or trade licence.
- Travel health insurance. Check the cover amount on the VFS checklist for your category.
- The category papers: invitation, company letter or host details.
The VFS checklists for tourism, business, and friends and family are separate PDFs. Use the one for your category and not a generic list from a blog.
Why Cyprus files get refused
- Wrong category for the trip.
- Hotel bookings that do not cover every night.
- No clear link to the UAE, such as a residence permit about to expire.
- Funds that look thin for the stay.
- A file filed too late, so the passport is still in processing on departure day.
How it works with us
Send your passport copy, Emirates ID and dates on WhatsApp or through the form on this page. A visa adviser reads the Cyprus list for your passport, tells you if a visa or your existing Schengen visa applies, and gives one total price before you pay. We prepare the form and bookings, check every page against the category checklist and book your slot in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. You attend for the appointment. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. The Cyprus authorities decide the application.
The visa and service fees are not returned by the authorities after a refusal. Before you pay, your adviser explains in writing what part of our total, if any, comes back if the visa is refused.
Official sources
- VFS Global, Cyprus visa information for the UAE: fees in AED, service fee, processing time, categories, Syrian and Turkish rule, Schengen exemption.
- Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, countries whose nationals need a visa: the nationality list. Did not open for our checks.
Combining Cyprus with Europe? See Schengen visa from Dubai and the Greece visa from Dubai page. Check more destinations in visas from Dubai.
