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To check a visa status in Dubai, use the GDRFA status inquiry at smart.gdrfad.gov.ae. It checks entry permits, residence permits and establishment cards issued in Dubai, including applications typed at an Amer center. For a visa issued in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or another emirate, use ICP's file validity or application tracking pages instead.
DubaiTypingCenters.com cannot look up your file. Every tool below is a government page, free to use.
Want one route in depth? See our guides to checking a visa with your passport number, GDRFA application status, the ICP visa status check and visit visa status.
Which tool for which visa
| Your case | Tool | Run by |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai visa or Amer application | Status inquiry | GDRFA Dubai |
| Visa from another emirate: is it valid? | File validity | ICP |
| Visa from another emirate: application in progress | Application tracking | ICP |
| Fines on a Dubai file | Fines Inquiry Service | GDRFA Dubai |
| Work permit or job offer | Inquiry services | MOHRE |
Source: u.ae track visa application and validity page, GDRFA and MOHRE pages, checked .
The links, in full:
- GDRFA status inquiry: https://smart.gdrfad.gov.ae/Public_Th/StatusInquiry_New.aspx
- ICP file validity: https://smartservices.icp.gov.ae/echannels/web/client/default.html#/fileValidity
- ICP application tracking: https://smartservices.icp.gov.ae/echannels/web/client/guest/index.html#/applicationTracking
- GDRFA fines inquiry: https://www.gdrfad.gov.ae/en/fines-inquiry-service
- MOHRE inquiry: https://inquiry.mohre.gov.ae/
Using the GDRFA status inquiry
The GDRFA page has five tabs: Application, File, Establishment inquiry, Reconsideration request and Counter application. In practice:
- Application is the one to try first for anything still in progress, such as a file an Amer center has just submitted.
- File is for a residence or entry permit that has already been issued.
- Establishment inquiry is for a company's establishment card.
- The last two tabs are for less common cases. If you are not sure, ask the center that submitted your file which one to use.
Across the tabs the form asks for some of these: application number, transaction number, first name in English, file number, nationality, date of birth, passport number and year of birth. GDRFA does not say which field belongs to which tab, so fill in what the tab shows you. Type names exactly as they are on the passport, in English.
Your file number is on the visa page in your passport if it was stamped, or on the e-visa. The application or transaction number for work in progress is on the receipt from the Amer center or the GDRFA app.
Amer application status
An "Amer visa check" and an "Amer application status" both lead to the same place. Amer centers are private, GDRFA-approved service centers. They type and submit your file, but GDRFA makes the decision. So the status lives in GDRFA's system.
GDRFA lists 48 hours for residence renewals, cancellations and status changes once the file is complete. If it takes longer, the file is often waiting for something: a medical result, a missing document, or a payment. Take your receipt back to the Amer center that submitted it and ask what GDRFA is waiting for. If an Amer center cannot finish the case, a GDRFA customer happiness center can. You can find both in our list of Amer centers in Dubai, and our Amer visa application guide explains what each center types.
Checking a visa from another emirate
Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain visas are ICP files. Use file validity to see whether a residence or entry permit is still valid, and application tracking for something you have applied for. Your Emirates ID application is tracked on the same ICP tracking page with its own number starting 010, which our Emirates ID status guide covers.
Expired, cancelled or fined
The status result often answers the next question for you:
- Valid, expiring soon. Plan the renewal. GDRFA's renewal pages state 60 days after expiry before fines start, but ICP's rules range from 30 to 180 days by category. Do not rely on the longer figure. Our visa renewal page has the fees.
- Expired or cancelled. Run the GDRFA fines inquiry. Fines are AED 50 per day once the grace period ends. Our overstay fine calculator shows the likely total.
- Cancelled, still in the UAE. You need a new visa or a status change before your grace period ends. See visa change inside the UAE.
Work permits are a separate check
Your residence visa is a GDRFA or ICP record. Your work permit is a MOHRE record. On inquiry.mohre.gov.ae there are 32 options, including Application Status and Electronic Work Permit Information. Nothing there is called "labour card status", which is why people get lost. Pick Electronic Work Permit Information to see the permit itself.
