Dubai to Oman Tours and Visa Issues for Non-Approved Countries?

I would recommend you contact Khasab Travel and Tours by email. I have used them before. They operate tours from Dubai to the Musandam and can advise you on the visa problem:

http://www.khasabtours.com

Note that it is not possible to travel from Musandam to Muscat by land without going through the U.A.E so that is not a solution. You would have to fly or take the ferry.

If there really is no way for your friend to get a visa on the border, or it involves a lot of expense or routing via Muscat, I would re-consider whether it's worth visiting the Musandam.

Just to confirm - if you need to apply for a visa to the UAE in advance, there's a minimum time lapse between visas of one month. So there is no chance that your friend can re-enter UAE after visiting Oman. Unless she stays up in Khasab for a month.

I agree with DXB - the Musandam is wonderful, but its not worth the hassle and cost of having to take all your luggage with you and fly from Khasab to Muscat to get home.

Correct, there is no Oman visa needed for the Dibba area. If you are visiting the Musandam on a boat trip from Dibba, then you don't have problem, as although you cross a checkpoint into Oman, they only check passports and nothing is stamped.

I assumed you were accessing Musandam via Khasab which is a proper international border crossing where your UAE visa is cancelled as you enter Oman.

I am getting mixed information from the tour agencies. They told me for the Dibba area no Oman visa is needed. And they said we can re-enter the UAE because there will not be a stamp from Omen in our passports... There seems to be no consistency....

So is there any way to go to Khasab without having our UAE visa canceled?

So that means if we go to Dibba, we are taking a boat only and it never docks at any port in Oman and technically we are not going to step foot in Oman?

Or does this simply mean we have to cross the border at an unoffical crossing without getting our passports stamped?

As I mentioned before, I think you need to take proper advice from someone like Khasab Travel & Tours because they presumably have to deal with this visa issue all the time. Visa rules are complex and change frequently.

As far as I know, there is no way of getting into Khasab without getting a UAE exit stamp as the UAE/Oman border at Khasab has full international border formalities.However, I speak as a UAE resident and possibly you may find there is a different arrangement for tourists who are only visiting Khasab for a day. Possibly the tour company itself acts as the visa sponsor, I don't know.

Dibba is a town that is half in the UAE and half in Oman. There is just a military checkpoint on this border crossing and no stamping of passports happens - I imagine it's simply not worthwhile to build a proper border crossing here as the number of visitors is very small. The tourist boats usually depart from the Oman side of Dibba.

If going to Khasab does involve major visa problems, then simply go with the Dibba option. The scenery is admittedly better in Khasab and you usually get to see dolphins, but the Dibba cruise is still very pleasant.

If you go to Khasab, you must pass through immigration, have your UAE visa cancelled and get an Oman visa (if your passport allows visa on arrival for Oman). You then need to get a new UAE visa on arrival to re-enter the country. There is no way around it I'm afraid!

As the others reply above, I agree, Musandam is beautiful, but perhaps not possible for this trip.

If your a Uk resident holding a Brtish passport, you can travel to Dubai from Oman by boarder and in retrun you will have permission to enter back to Oman with your Oman Visa that you had received in arrivals at the airport in Oman (Muscat). If you are holding a passport of another type then I cannot say for sure that you will be allowed to enter Oman with your vissa that was purchased in arrivals. Enjoy your boarder trips.

Sincerely: Mohammed saljui.

Company: OMAN BOARDER.

Edited by: LoLol