Afghan tourist visa in Dubai

[steven]

Please read and post reports on the Afghan embassy in Dubai below.

We summarize all info on the Afghan visa page, under embassy reports.

[jimmycambodia]

Hello,

Does anyone have recent experience with getting the visa in Dubai?

I am planning to go to Kabul, Bamyan and Mazar to visit a friend. He is Afghan and will travel with me the whole time. He has also written me an invitation letter.

Can someone with recent experience, preferably 2017, detail what is required for the visa and how long it takes?

Thanks very much,

Jimmy.

[jimmycambodia]

Some further information, I contacted the embassy in Abu Dhabi, and was told it is not possible to get a tourist visa unless you are a resident of Dubai.

I was told to get the visa at the embassy in my home country.

Can anyone please advise if this is correct?

Thank you.

James.

[SPR11]

Different embassies, different rules. There's no distinct policy that you need to get an Afghan visa in your home country. I got mine in Kyrgyzstan, for instance.

[steven]

Most people get it in Khorog

[jimmycambodia]

Hi all,

So I was going to try and get the visa in Kuala Lumpur after the Embassy in Abu Dhabi told me it was not possible to get the visa in Dubai. I gave up on KL after being told different things numerous times by the same man. So came to Dubai anyway and low and behold, got the visa easily in one day. Got there at 10:30, waited for the Consul General to arrive, handed it directly to him, picked it up in the afternoon. He barely even looked at my documents and asked me zero questions. No interview either.

The documents I did have were:

1. Letter of invitation from my friend in Afghanistan, signed.
2. Booking confirmation for a hotel in Bamiyan.
3. Personal statement from myself saying I understand the risks of going there.
4. Passport photo (1)
5. Copy of passport
6. Visa application form.

It was very easy, if not a little chaotic.

Hope this is useful for everyone else hoping to go.

Thanks!

[sara7713]

Hi folks:

Has anyone done this recently (~2018) and can confirm how long the processing time is in Dubai?
It would suck to plan a trip and then have the visa get rejected in Dubai on the way over there!

Sara

[zantoz]

Hi, does anyone used the online visa form in the website of the Afghan consulate in Dubai?
https://afghanconsulate.ae/index.php/visa_apply
I live in Uruguay and intend to visit the Wakhan Corridor next July, I'd like to know if I can fill the online form and then just go to Dubai to have the visa on the passport.
Thank you,
Eduardo.

[XiaoMo]

July 2019 , I went to the consulate, provided LOI from a private person along with a certificate from their school (I want to volunteer there). Spoke with 2 man in the consulate who were pretty OK with issuing the visa despite the security concerns. However the consul disapproved stating that the I need to get the reference number from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education (because of education related reason of going to the country). I asked about regular tourist visas and was told that at the moment all applications need the reference number even if it's purely tourist purpose of visit. They only issue visas to people with some strong backup in Afghanistan such ad NGOs or companies. Even though the website says that tourist visas are available with an invitation only it seems to be impossible.
Update: after nearly 3 weeks of waiting I finally got the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approval and the next day applied for visa. $150 same day service (seemed like the only option), visa to be picked up in Emirates post office near the Dubai airport.

[emengee]

I managed to get a tourist visa in Dubai in November 2020, but it took a few days and I had to advocate for myself. At first they said it was impossible because I didn't have an MFA code (which don't exist for tourist visas, so they were trying to send me on a fool's errand). Then they said that I didn't have the right paperwork, but they refused to tell me what I was missing. Eventually I had to meet with the Consul General to plead my case, and he parroted the party line ("We only give visas to UAE citizens." "You need an MFA code." "You need to go back to Washington D.C. to apply.") but when I insisted that this was not the case and that I knew the consulate regularly gave out tourists visas to foreigners, they eventually gave in and approved my visa. But it took two more days to process it due to various issues they were having.

If you're going, make sure you're prepared to advocate for yourself.