Emirates, one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, has launched a pre-approved visa-on-arrival facility for Indian travelers.

“The service is exclusively available to Indian passport holders who have a valid six-month visa for the US, US Green Card, EU Residency, or UK Residency,” the airline said in a statement on Thursday.

According to Dubai Tourism statistics, Dubai welcomed two million overnight visitors from India between January to October 2023.

The facility is available to those Indians who have booked their travel with the airline, enabling them to skip queues when arriving in Dubai. It is a 14-day single entry visa fulfilled by the Dubai Visa Processing Centre.

The service is for Indian passport holders with a valid six-month US visa, US Green Card, EU Residency, or UK Residency. Moreover, the issuance of visas remains at the absolute discretion of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs.

Customers can book their flights through emirates.com or through their preferred travel agent. After retrieving their booking through ‘Manage an existing booking’ on emirates.com, customers should click on the ‘apply for a UAE visa’ link. They will be redirected to the online UAE Visa application site powered by VFS Global Services, which sets out the requirements, terms and conditions to facilitate the visa application process.

Emirates serves nine destinations in India with 167 weekly flights, connecting travellers to Dubai and onwards to a global network of more than 140 destinations.