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To check a GDRFA application status, enter the application or transaction number on GDRFA's status inquiry at smart.gdrfad.gov.ae, under the Application tab. If you filed the service yourself in the GDRFA app or website with UAE PASS, it also shows in your account. GDRFA lists 48 hours for most residence and visit visa services once the file is complete.
GDRFA, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, handles visas issued in Dubai. If your visa is from another emirate, this is the wrong system: see our ICP visa status check instead.
Where your application number comes from
The number depends on who pressed submit:
| Who applied | Where the number is |
|---|---|
| An Amer center | Printed on the receipt they gave you |
| You, online | Your GDRFA app or website account (UAE PASS login) |
| A hotel or travel agency (tourist visa) | Ask them: they hold the application |
| Your employer or its PRO | Ask HR for the GDRFA application or transaction number |
| A GDRFA customer happiness center | On the center's receipt |
Lost the receipt? Go back to the same Amer center. They can find the application from the day you visited. Our Amer visa application guide explains what each counter files.
How long GDRFA should take
These are GDRFA's own stated times, counted from a complete file:
| Service | GDRFA time |
|---|---|
| Residence renewal | 48 hours |
| Residence cancellation | 48 hours |
| Status change inside the UAE | 48 hours |
| Residence for a private sector employee | 48 hours |
| Tourist visa, 30 or 60 days | 48 hours |
| Job seeker visit visa | 48 hours |
Source: GDRFA service pages, checked .
"Complete" is the important word. A residence file waits for the medical result if you are 18 or over, and for the photo and passport copy to pass review. So an application filed on day one with the medical done on day three is really a day three application. Our medical test result page shows how to check that part.
Smart GDRFA: what you can track online
"Smart GDRFA" is shorthand for GDRFA's online services. Most residence services can be filed there around the clock with UAE PASS, as well as at Amer centers and GDRFA's own centers. The public status inquiry is part of the same site and needs no login.
The inquiry has more than one door:
- Application for anything still being processed.
- File once a residence or entry permit has been issued.
- Establishment inquiry for a company's immigration card.
- Reconsideration request if an application was refused and a review was asked for.
- Counter application, a less common case: ask the center that filed for you whether it applies.
If you only have your passport, our page on how to check visa status with a passport number covers that route.
When the status will not move
Past 48 hours with no change, take the receipt back to whoever submitted it and ask one question: what is GDRFA waiting for? The answer is usually a medical result, an unpaid amount, or a document GDRFA wants replaced. A new photo or a clearer passport scan fixes most of these the same day.
If the Amer center cannot move it, GDRFA's customer happiness centers can. They open Monday to Thursday 07:30 to 19:00, and Friday 07:30 to 12:00 and 14:30 to 19:00. The GDRFA Airport Services Center at Terminal 3 is open 24 hours; our 24 hour centers page lists what can be done at night.
After approval
Approval is not the last step for everyone:
- Entry permit approved. The person must still enter, or change status if already inside. See entry permit UAE.
- Residence approved. The Emirates ID application follows with ICP, tracked with its own number.
- Renewal approved. Check that the new expiry date is right on the File tab. Our visa renewal page lists the GDRFA fees if something has to be redone.
Keep the application number until the visa and Emirates ID are both in your hands. It is the fastest way for any counter to find your case.
