Preparing for the Application
First I grabbed my passport to check how much validity it had left. Needed at least 6 months coverage beyond my travel dates – good thing I’d renewed it last year. Opened my phone gallery to hunt for passport photos. Realized my last decent photo had glasses glare, so I rushed to a photo booth near the train station. The guy cropped it wrong twice before getting the UAE size right: 43x55mm with white background.
Gathering Documents
Next I attacked my messy desk for paperwork. Found hotel confirmation emails from * printed them all with reservations showing my full name exactly matching the passport. Dug through tax files for bank statements – chose the newest one showing consistent balance above their requirement. Had to email Emirates Airlines for return ticket proof since I booked through Skyscanner. Took 3 hours to scan every document into PDFs because my scanner kept jamming!
Filling the Online Form
Went straight to the official UAE immigration portal late at night to avoid website traffic. That application form was longer than I expected! Sections about parents’ names, education details, even my grandfather’s birthplace. Halfway through my laptop died – forgot to plug in the charger. Started over from scratch at 2am. Double-checked every field with my passport in hand. Almost submitted with a typo in the passport number! Caught it when reviewing the preview PDF.
Paying Fees
Payment page offered card or PayPal. Chose Visa card but got declined twice because international transaction security blocked it. Had to call my bank’s 24-hour line to authorize UAE payments. When it finally went through, saw the service fee was higher than expected – around $50 extra for express processing. Saved the payment receipt screenshot immediately in three different folders.
The Waiting Game
After submission, I refreshed my email every 2 hours like a maniac. Woke up at 4am to check spam folder just in case. Three days later, got this sketchy-looking email claiming to be the visa office asking for more documents. Turned out to be phishing scam! Official approval came 48 hours later through proper portal. Printed three copies immediately – one for carry-on, one for luggage, one left with my mom in case I lost everything.
