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Monday 20 May 2013 (UAE)
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Embassies and Consulates in the UAE
Usually you'll find embassies in Abu Dhabi (as it's the capital of the United Arab Emirates) and consulates in Dubai (as it's not). The UK is an exception to this rule with embassies in both emirates (and India?).
Expect queues and bureaucratic hassle typical of embassies anywhere in the world. Remember that the poor chap or chapess working behind the counter thinks they're very important so you're at their mercy as you'll very quickly find out if you try and bully them into doing a job efficiently.
Best advice when dealing with an embassy or consulate from any country is to go very early, bring a book to read in the queue, be patient, never lose your cool, try and speak the language of that country or bring someone who does. Even just saying hello and thank you in that language can make a difference. Smile, even if they don't. And save your grumbles for your friends at the coffee shop. Mothers with small children sometimes get better treatment, so do young, single (or appearing to be single) women if served by a male attendant, especially in embassies and consulates from countries with a society that is more patriarchal and/or misogynistic. If you're a bloke, bring your kids or borrow one.
Some embassies are noticeably better than others at processing visas etc. It can depend on your nationality and circumstances too but adding specifics here is probably going a bit too far for this website. Visit the discussion forum to get more information or discuss further.
Of course, embassies usually treat their own citizens better than other nationalities which is understandable since they are supposedly there for their citizens. Don't expect them to do everything for you though. Normally embassies are good at only two things as far as the general public is concerned: renewing passports, and evacuating their citizens out of a country in a general emergency. If you're in trouble personally, they don't normally get you out of jail, represent you in court, buy you a plane ticket, lend you money, etc. They might be able to give you a list of local lawyers and arrange for someone to visit you in jail.
Visas for other countries
- France - apparently a low limit to the number of daily applications resulting in repeated early visits just to get in the queue. Even French citizens complain about their own embassy (but that might just reflect the Frenchness of French people rather than their embassy being any worse than others).
- Germany - typical humorless Teutonic efficiency. But that's exactly what you want.
- Holland - see Netherlands.
- Iran - yes, your visa will actually get processed. You might find it easier to go through a travel agency that specialises in that though.
- Italy - stories of significant frustration for European visas.
- Netherlands (Holland) - polite and relatively efficient.
- Oman - generally helpful and efficient for tourist visas (but that was for nationalities that can now get them at the border anyway). Reports for other type of visas are no worse or better than for any other country (which means you can expect frustration).
List of foreign embassies and diplomatic representation in Abu Dhabi, UAE
- List moved to new page - foreign embassies in Abu Dhabi.
List of foreign embassies, consulates, and diplomatic representatives in Dubai, UAE
- List moved to new page - consulates and embassies in Dubai.
List of nearest embassies or consulates for countries without a presence in the UAE
- Ireland - Irish Embassy, Saudi Arabia (embassy to open in Abu Dhabi by end 2008?)
- New Zealand Embassy - Saudi Arabia (consulate in Dubai, embassy to open in Abu Dhabi early 2011?)
Last update Friday 29-Jun-2012.
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