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Middle East Visas


gregg907
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I have a question that I hope someone may be able to answer. We are booked on a Pullmantur cruise from Athens to Dubai in November. The stops are Cairo, Aqaba, two stops in Oman, UAE ending in Dubai My research shows that going to these countries by air we could get the visas at the airport. My question is about visas for US citizens. Pullmantur is silent on requirements and our travel agent refers us to a visa company. The research that I have done is seems to indicate that if we were to fly into these countries we could get the visas at the airport. I don't see anything about seaports. Having spent 40 years working with government regulations I know that they don't always make sense. Hence the cruiseline and travel agent don't want to advise folks from numerous countries on visa requirements. Do any of you have experience?

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I am a U.K. citizen and have done several cruises to this part of the world with Azamara - we did nothing about Visas and the ship organised everything.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The same has always been the case for US passport holders too however, Oman very recently changed their 'visa on arrival' policy and now all visitors must apply for an online e-visa prior to arrival. It's a very quick and easy procedure and the visa is approved and emailed to the applicant within hours. Whether this will also apply to cruise ship passengers or not I don't know but it does apply to air and land border arrivals..

 

Anne...

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The same has always been the case for US passport holders too however, Oman very recently changed their 'visa on arrival' policy and now all visitors must apply for an online e-visa prior to arrival. It's a very quick and easy procedure and the visa is approved and emailed to the applicant within hours. Whether this will also apply to cruise ship passengers or not I don't know but it does apply to air and land border

 

 

This info from the Oman consulate in Melbourne, Australia:

 

"As of the 21st of March 2018, all tourist visitors will need to have a pre-obtained, 30-day tourist visit visa to enter Oman. Please note that cruise ships are exempt from this regulation.

 

All cruise ships are given a blanket visa which is organised between the cruise ship company and the Royal Oman Police."

 

So it sounds like it's the responsibility of the cruise line to organise the visa.

 

This had also been the case previously.

My wife is , as we speak flying from Abu Dhabi to Muscat and I asked her to check with the immigration officers. Perhaps a switched on person who can actually string a coherent sentence together is staffing the counter today...

Will let you all know what the latest answer is.

 

There is NO reference to cruise ship passengers on the official website of the Royal Oman Police who is dealing with ANYTHING vaguely official in Oman.

http://Www.evisa.rop.gov.*****

I would go and spend OMR 20.00 for a visa without getting clarification from your cruise line if you really need a visa (unlikely).

If you still want to go ahead and apply for a visa, you will need to have available for upload : a scan of your passport information pages and a scan / file of your passport photo.

Once everything is uploaded and paid for, you usually get your visa confirmation (which you need to print out!) within minutes.

Be aware that you need to go through the process for EVERY family member.

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