I am planning to take my Thai national girlfriend to Dubai for a couple of days to visit my brother (who is living there).

After researching the process on the internet I have been given the following info:

The visa has to be arranged by a hotel or a travel agency who is booking your hotel accomodation.

(I was going to stay with my brother, I understand that this is impossible?)

The visa will cost about $200 to organise(!!!)

They require a deposit of $1410(!!) (refundable once you leave the country).

Has anyone done this before?

Any recommendations for the process? Do I really have to stay in the same hotel for the duration of the stay? Is there a cheaper way of organising the visa?

Cheers.

If you travel with Emirates, they will arrange the visa on your girlfriend's behalf. I have no experience of this, but it sounds like a straightforward process.

Scouse.

Thanks for the suggestion Scouse, that looks pretty good and hassle free, unfortunatly on the website they are quoting well over twice the price of other airlines...

Any other ideas?

Scouse is 100 percent correct....done this many times.

Emirates also have cheap inclusive packages where the visa is FREE, at least when you're on route to the UK.

Finally a Co called Marharba do similar packages which include the visa.

In both cases visa collected at the Immigration desk at arrivals.

They will not issue a visa unless you are staying in a hotel. Non married couples are not allowed to live together.

It is an Islamic country but they have relaxed some of the rules over the last few years.