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The UAe recently AnnoUnced an amended visa policy with new options specifically introduced for medical tourists. Under the new rules, a medical treatment visa costs dhs550, with a multiple entry visa priced at dhs1,400 and a visa for a patient's escort also priced at dhs1,400.
The move is part of the UAe's and specifically dubai's strategy of becoming a medical tourism hub within the next few years. the emirate aims to attract up to 500,000 people per year for medical tourism by 2020, with goal of the sector contributing dhs2.6 billion to its GdP by then.
the introduction of the new visas is a positive step towards the fulfillment of the target set for 2020, according to Sandeep Sinha, vice president, healthcare Practice, Middle east, north Africa and South Asia, Frost & Sullivan.
the visas will also help in measuring the number of medical tourists entering the UAe (from countries that require visas), which in turn can help support future planning and improvement in the emirate's medical tourism offerings, added dr. Fatma Al Sharaf, strategy and partner development manager at dubai healthcare city (dhcc).
however, nikhil Idnani, principal with Strategy&, formerly Booz & company, opined that the move would not necessarily provide a major boost to medical tourism. "It will not be a big driver as it is fairly easy to obtain a UAe visa already," he said.
"those who can afford to travel to the UAe for medical reasons, would anyhow be able to get a visit or tourist visa to dubai relatively easily."