Travel Information

Getting to Sharjah: Most international airlines will go to Dubai airport and not Sharjah airport. Dubai airport is very close to downtown Sharjah. (20 – 30 minutes by taxi and about US$15). You can still find air tickets to Sharjah airport but mostly from the Middle East. It takes the same time to reach your hotel in downtown Sharjah.

Visa Requirements: Not everyone requires a pre-issued visa to enter the United Arab Emirates. Please look at the following link very carefully to determine what applies to your case. You can also inquire through the nearest UAE embassy to your location. The location of UAE embassies can be found following this link.

Visa from Airlines: If you require a visa, we strongly recommend that you issue it through the Airline. Emirates airline and Air Arabia do help in issuing visa for visitors to the United Arab Emirates. Other airlines may do as well. Please look at the links below.

• Click here to view the Emirates Airline Visa service.
• Click here to view the Air Arabia Visa service.

Visa from Hotels: Some hotels may offer visa services for their guests. We recommend that you contact the Sales Personnel of the specific hotel and check any arrangement with them to issue a visa. More details of these hotels are in the Hotels section. They hotels need a scanned passport sent via email and the credit card number. The list below briefly refers to hotels that may provide visa services:

• Grand Hotel - Sharjah: They arrange for visas. They need a passport copy and the credit card number.
• Holiday International Hotel - Sharjah: They arrange for visas. The fee for the service is 400 AED (110.00 US$).

Visa from AUS: Only if you need a visa and failed to get it through the airline or the hotel, the American University of Sharjah will do its best to help you. It is worth mentioning that, in this circumstances, entrance to the UAE will be limited to Sharjah and Dubai airports. If you need this help, please make sure to email the information below to Prof. Ahmad Okeil before March 5, 9:00 pm (GMT):

• Fill ALL the fields of this spreadsheet as per your passport, preferably in ARABIC. If you cannot do it in Arabic, fill all the fields in English (except the “name in Arabic” field). Then email the spreadsheet file.
• Email scanned images of ALL the pages in your passport that show the information you put in the spreadsheet. It is understandable that some information such as mother’s name may not appear in your passport. Then send the email with scanned documents.
• Email a scanned proof of transfer of 30.00 US$.

Useful Travel Links:

• Click here to view map of AUS.
• Click here to view more information about Sharjah.
• Click here to view map of Sharjah.
• Click here to view the United Arab Emirates visa requirement.