COVID-19: What are the quarantine rules in the UAE?

Dubai: Planning to travel to the UAE some time soon? If you are wondering what the quarantine guidelines are, which you will need to follow, here is a round up of all the announcements that have been made by authorities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

Quarantine guidelines for travellers to Abu Dhabi

According to an announcement by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on August 14, passengers have to follow these procedures when returning from outside the UAE to Abu Dhabi, effective from August 15, 2021:

Vaccinated travellers

Vaccinated travellers arriving from ‘green’ countries must take a PCR [Polymerase Chain Reaction] test on arrival and another on Day 6 from arrival. They are not required to quarantine themselves.

Vaccinated travellers arriving from other countries must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for seven days and take another PCR test on Day 6 from arrival.

The protocol applies to vaccinated UAE citizens and residents who received their second dose at least 28 days before arriving in the UAE and have this information documented on the Al Hosn app.

Unvaccinated travellers

Unvaccinated citizens and residents arriving from ‘green’ countries must take a PCR test on arrival, on Day 6 and on Day 9from arrival. They are not required to quarantine themselves.

Unvaccinated travellers arriving from other countries must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for 12 days and take another PCR test on Day 9from arrival.

Quarantine guidelines for travellers to Dubai

According to the official UAE government website – u.ae – if you are an expatriate resident of the UAE or a tourist to the UAE, you must present a negative result of a PCR test at the departure airport. This test should have been conducted within 96 hours before travelling to Dubai.

Some residents might be tested again on arrival at Dubai’s airport. If you are required to take another test on arrival, you must remain in quarantine at your residence until you receive the test result. If the test result is positive, you must stay in isolation and follow the instructions of Dubai Health Authority. If the test result is negative, you do not need to quarantine yourself.

If you are a citizen of the UAE, you are exempt from the PCR test prior to departure, regardless of the city or country you are coming from. However, you will be tested on arrival in Dubai.

Quarantine guidelines for travellers to Sharjah

If you are an expatriate resident of the UAE or a visitor to the UAE, you must present a negative result of a PCR test at the departure airport. This test should have been conducted within 72 hours before travelling to Sharjah. This is as per rules issued on April 13, 2021, according to u.ae.

Residents and visitors must take an PCR test upon arrival at Sharjah’s airport and quarantine themselves until they receive the results. If the result is positive, you must stay in isolation for 14 days.

Penalty for violating quarantine rules

Violating home quarantine procedures would amount to endangering the lives of others and makes the offender liable to a fine of Dh50,000.