Patient Guide · UAE
Indian Medical Visa from Dubai and the UAE: Which One You Actually Need
Whether you need an Indian medical visa depends on the passport you hold, not just where you live in the UAE — and for a large share of people searching this, the honest answer is that you don’t need one at all. Find out which of the four groups below you’re in, then jump to your section for fees, documents and the exact steps to apply.
Start here: which of these are you?
Around 4 million Indian nationals live in the UAE — roughly a third of the population, and the largest single national group in the country. So “do I need an Indian medical visa” doesn’t have one answer in the UAE the way it does in most countries. It depends entirely on your passport:
- Indian passport holder — you don't need a medical visa at all. Jump to "If you hold an Indian passport or OCI card" below.
- OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholder — you also don't need one. Same section as above.
- UAE national (Emirati) — you need an e-Medical Visa, and there's a rarely-used Visa on Arrival route too. Jump to "If you're a UAE national" below.
- Any other nationality, resident in the UAE — your path follows your own passport, not the UAE. Jump to "If you hold another passport and live in the UAE" below.
If you’re still not sure which group you’re in, the short version: it’s about citizenship, not residency. Living in Dubai on a UAE residence visa doesn’t change what your home passport already entitles you to.
If you hold an Indian passport or OCI card
You don’t need a medical visa, or any visa, to travel to India.
If you hold an Indian passport, you’re an Indian citizen — you travel on your passport like any other domestic traveller, regardless of how long you’ve lived in the UAE.
If you hold an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card, India’s Ministry of External Affairs states that an OCI cardholder is granted a “multiple entry, multi-purpose, life-long visa for visiting India” and is “exempted from registration with Foreign Regional Registration Officer… for any length of stay in India.” There’s no separate medical visa to apply for, and no FRRO registration to arrange after you land, whatever the length or purpose of your stay.
If this is you, the useful next step usually isn’t a visa question at all — it’s arranging the hospital side of the trip.
Source: Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme — checked 16 September 2026
If you're a UAE national
The UAE is on India’s eligible-country list for the e-Medical Visa — applied for online at indianvisaonline.gov.in before you travel, the same route used by patients from most other countries.
There’s also a second, less-known route. India’s visa portal states that its Visa on Arrival facility is only for the nationals of Japan, South Korea and UAE — making UAE one of just three countries in the world with this option. The condition attached to it matters: it applies “only for such UAE nationals who had earlier obtained e-Visa or regular/paper visa for India.” In other words, Visa on Arrival isn’t a first-time route — it’s only open to UAE nationals who’ve already held a valid Indian visa before. First-time applicants should use the e-Medical Visa.
Source: Indian Visa Online — Visa on Arrival · Indian e-Visa portal — checked 16 September 2026
If you hold another passport and live in the UAE
If you’re neither Indian nor Emirati — say, Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian or of any other nationality resident in the UAE — you can apply for your Indian medical visa from here, through the Consulate General of India, Dubai (for Dubai and the Northern Emirates) or the Embassy in Abu Dhabi (for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain), using your UAE residency as proof of address. But whether you qualify for the e-Medical Visa or must apply on paper depends on your own passport, not the UAE.
This catches people out. To take a concrete example: Bangladeshi nationals cannot currently use the e-Medical Visa route at all, regardless of where in the world they’re applying from — they need the paper-based Medical Visa process. We cover that in detail, including the full document checklist, on our Bangladesh medical visa page, which is a useful worked example of what a non-e-Visa-eligible nationality’s process looks like.
The practical step either way: check your own passport’s eligibility on indianvisaonline.gov.in first, then follow the documents and application steps further down this page — they apply to you regardless of which route your passport puts you on.
Source: Consulate General of India, Dubai — Indian Visa Services — checked 16 September 2026
What it costs
The Government of India’s Medical Visa and Medical Attendant Visa fee, per the Consulate General of India, Dubai’s official fee schedule:
- Up to 6 months, single or multiple entry: AED 295 (approx. US$80)
- More than 6 months up to 1 year, multiple entry: AED 445 (approx. US$121)
- Al Hind Tours & Travels service charge (paper applications, effective 22 July 2026): AED 19 per transaction, inclusive of VAT, on top of the government fee
The USD figures are an approximate conversion — the fee itself is fixed in AED. If you’re applying for the e-Medical Visa online rather than through a centre, the AED 19 service charge doesn’t apply since there’s no in-person centre involved; you’ll pay the government fee directly on the e-Visa portal in the currency it displays.
Source: Consulate General of India, Dubai — Visa Fee Schedule · Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi — Al Hind Service Fee Notice — checked 16 September 2026
Documents you'll need
This is the Consulate General of India, Dubai’s own checklist for the Medical Visa and Medical Attendant Visa:
- Signed hard copy of the online visa application form (one set), from indianvisaonline.gov.in
- Two recent passport photographs, 51mm × 51mm, not older than three months
- Original passport plus photocopies of the current passport and any old passports, including the valid UAE residence visa page
- Invitation letter from an Indian hospital with treatment details
- Valid medical documents from a recognised UAE hospital, stating the illness — this is a UAE-side requirement, in addition to the Indian hospital's letter
- Letter of recommendation from your local (UAE) doctor — stated as mandatory
- For attendants: proof of relationship to the patient, and the attendant named in the hospital's invitation letter
Maximum two medical attendants per patient — more on this below.
Source: Consulate General of India, Dubai — Medical Visa — checked 16 September 2026
How to apply, step by step
If you’re eligible for the e-Medical Visa (UAE nationals, and other nationalities on India’s e-Visa eligible list):
- Get your hospital invitation letter first — send your medical reports to the Indian hospital and ask for a letter naming the patient, the illness, treatment duration and estimated cost.
- Apply online at indianvisaonline.gov.in, upload your documents and pay the fee.
- Travel with your approved e-Visa and present it on arrival.
If you’re applying on paper (most third-country residents, and anyone who prefers an in-person application):
- Book an appointment at consularsevainuae.com — the official portal for Al Hind Tours & Travels, the provider handling Indian consular, visa and passport services across the UAE since 22 July 2026. New slots are released twice daily, at 9 AM and 9 PM.
- Choose the centre for your emirate — Dubai and the Northern Emirates route through the Consulate General of India, Dubai; Abu Dhabi and Al Ain route through the Embassy in Abu Dhabi. See “Where to apply” below for the full centre list.
- Submit your documents using the checklist above, during centre hours (8 AM–6 PM daily).
- Pay the government fee plus the AED 19 service charge at the centre.
Source: consularsevainuae.com · Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi — checked 16 September 2026
Medical Attendant Visa
The Consulate General of India, Dubai is explicit: “medical attendant visa would be granted to only those people who are accompanying the patient,” with a maximum of two medical attendants per patient — consistent with the rule on every other Geo Healthcare visa guide.
An attendant’s application needs proof of their relationship to the patient, and the attendant must be named in the hospital’s own invitation letter. An attendant visa is only ever valid alongside a genuine, approved Medical Visa — it can’t be applied for on its own.
Source: Consulate General of India, Dubai — Medical Visa — checked 16 September 2026
Air ambulance from Dubai and the UAE to India
Dubai is one of the busiest medical-evacuation hubs in the region, and it’s a genuinely common question for patients whose condition doesn’t allow a commercial flight. An air ambulance transfer from the UAE to India is arranged on a case-by-case basis — the aircraft type, medical crew, route and timing all depend on the patient’s condition, so there isn’t a fixed price we can honestly publish here.
What we can tell you upfront: the patient still needs a valid Indian visa (whichever category applies to them, per the sections above) before an air ambulance transfer can proceed — medical evacuation doesn’t bypass the visa requirement. If timing is critical, start the visa and the medical arrangements in parallel rather than one after the other.
If this applies to you, tell us the patient’s current condition and location and we’ll get you a same-day response.
Where to apply
Since 22 July 2026, Indian consular, passport, visa and attestation services in the UAE are handled by Al Hind Tours & Travels, across 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs), no longer at the Embassy or Consulate premises themselves:
- Abu Dhabi emirate (6 centres): Al Danah, Musaffah, Al Reem, Al Ain, Madinat Zayed/Al Dhafra, Ghayathi
- Dubai & Northern Emirates (10 centres): Bur Dubai, Dubai Investment Park-I, Sharjah Al Majaz, Indian Association Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Kalba, Khor Fakkan
- All centres open 8 AM – 6 PM daily; appointments required, booked at consularsevainuae.com
- New appointment slots release twice daily, at 9 AM and 9 PM
One warning worth repeating exactly as the Consulate states it: “Applicants are requested NOT to finalize their travel plans before their applications have been accepted.” Visa processing isn’t guaranteed on submission — don’t book flights or hospital dates until your visa is actually approved.
Source: Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi · Consulate General of India, Dubai — checked 16 September 2026. Centre list and booking arrangements changed once in 2026 and may change again — confirm your nearest centre at consularsevainuae.com before travelling to submit.
How Geo Healthcare helps
Whichever of the four groups above you fall into, the hospital invitation letter is usually the document everything else depends on — it has to name the right patient, illness, treatment duration and estimated cost, exactly as the Consulate requires. We coordinate this directly with your hospital in India so the letter is right the first time, then hand you a clean, ready-to-submit checklist for whichever route applies to your passport.
One thing worth being upfront about: neither the e-Visa portal nor the Al Hind centres accept applications submitted by a third party on your behalf — you or your attendant have to complete that step yourselves. What we can do is make sure everything you bring is correct the first time, so there’s no back-and-forth once you’re there.
Frequently asked questions
No. Indian passport holders travel to India on their passport like any other domestic traveller — there's no visa of any kind to apply for, regardless of how long you've lived in the UAE.
No. India's Ministry of External Affairs grants OCI cardholders a multiple-entry, life-long visa for visiting India, and exempts them from FRRO registration for any length of stay.
The Consulate General of India, Dubai lists AED 295 for up to 6 months, or AED 445 for 6 months to 1 year, plus an AED 19 service charge if you apply through an Al Hind centre in person.
Yes, but only if they've previously held an Indian e-Visa or regular visa — it's not available on a first application. UAE is one of only three countries (with Japan and South Korea) with access to this route at all; first-time applicants should use the e-Medical Visa instead.
At one of 16 Indian Consular Application Centres run by Al Hind Tours & Travels since 22 July 2026 — 6 in Abu Dhabi emirate, 10 across Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Book an appointment at consularsevainuae.com.
Yes, using your UAE residency as proof of address, but whether you qualify for the online e-Medical Visa or need the paper-based route depends on your own nationality, not the UAE. Check your passport's eligibility on indianvisaonline.gov.in.
This page explains the Indian government’s own visa process and is not immigration or legal advice — visa rules, fees, service providers and document requirements can change without notice, and the UAE’s application process has already changed once in 2026. Always confirm current requirements at consularsevainuae.com or with the Consulate General of India, Dubai before you apply.
Written by the Geo Healthcare Consultancy patient support team · Last reviewed 16 September 2026