Want To Take Thai Girlfriend To Dubai

[ashacat]

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.

[the scouser]

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.

[ashacat]

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?

[topfield]

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.

[johnh101]

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.