Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both connecting points for American travelers routing to South and Southeast Asia, and for a lot of those travelers the UAE itself is only a layover. The country’s federal identity authority, the ICP, does publish a page on entry — but it reads as a services directory for citizens and residents first, and a short-stay visitor second.
Start with the authority’s own warning about where to look
Before anything else, ICP tells visitors to use its own channels only: “ICP emphasises the importance of obtaining services and information solely through official and authorised channels, including the (Smart Services Platform) and the (UAEICP) smart app.” That is a plain warning against third-party sites and calls claiming to process UAE entry paperwork, and it is worth taking at face value regardless of which service you need.
The entry permit is the mechanism for a visit
For a tourist, the relevant service is the entry permit. ICP describes it as issued “for a specific period, either for tourism, visit, or treatment, or to complete the procedures for issuing a work residency or residence for family members.” That single service covers tourism and medical visits on one end, and the start of a work or family residency process on the other — ICP does not separate them into different pages or different processes.
Most of what else is published is for citizens and residents, not visitors
The rest of what ICP’s page covers is not aimed at a short-term visitor. Emirates ID renewal applies “if it has expired, or if less than one year remains before its expiry for UAE nationals, and less than six months remains before its expiry for non-UAE nationals” — relevant if you already hold an Emirates ID, not if you are entering on a tourist basis. A replacement ID for a lost or damaged card “is issued for the same validity period as the original card.” Passport renewal is stated as a citizen’s service, available “if it has expired or has less than one year remaining before expiry.” None of these apply to a first-time visitor.
There is also a permit for residents staying outside the UAE for more than six months, who must provide “a valid reason” to re-enter — again, a resident’s rule, not a visitor’s.
Golden Residency is a long-term program, not a stopover visa
For investors specifically, ICP describes a 10-year Golden Residency visa in two separate tracks: one “for real estate investors to complete the procedures for obtaining the Golden Residency for a period of 10 years,” and a second, worded almost identically, “for investors in general investments” on the same 10-year term. Both are residency programs aimed at people planning to base themselves in the UAE, not a device for a short transit stop.
Whether US visitors need a visa at all isn’t stated
This is the gap worth naming directly: ICP’s own page does not state whether US passport holders need a visa at all for a UAE visit, what a tourist entry permit costs, how long it is valid for, or how it is obtained before travel. It does not mention visa-free entry, visa on arrival, or transit-specific rules for a layover passenger — the closest it comes is naming “tourism” and “visit” as purposes the entry permit covers, without saying how a US citizen actually applies for one.
If the UAE leg of your trip is more than a layover, that gap means this page alone will not get you through planning. Confirm the actual visa requirement for US passport holders through the UAEICP platform or a UAE consulate directly — ICP does not answer that question.