Do UAE passport holders need a visa to visit BI?

UAE ordinary passport holders need a visa for Burundi. The recommended route is the official online eVisa from the Commissariat Général des Migrations (migration.gov.bi); a visa on arrival is also available at Bujumbura airport. As of 31 May 2026, holders of an ordinary United Arab Emirates passport require a visa to enter Burundi for tourism or a short visit. Burundi grants visa-free access only to East African Community partner states (DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda); the UAE is not on that list. A bilateral visa-exemption agreement between the UAE and Burundi was signed in January 2019 but has never entered into force, so it confers no current benefit and travelers must still obtain a visa. The most reliable channel is the official online visa (eVisa) issued by Burundi's Commissariat Général des Migrations (CGM) at migration.gov.bi, which can be used to enter by air and at land borders and is typically processed within about 3 working days. A visa on arrival is also obtainable at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport (Bujumbura), but it is offered only at that airport and carries the risk of refusal, so applying for the eVisa in advance is strongly recommended. The standard short-stay visa is a single/multiple-entry visa valid for an initial one-month stay (renewable in-country up to twice, for a maximum of 90 days), at a fee of USD 90 (payable in USD or EUR). Passports should be valid for at least six months beyond the intended date of travel with at least one blank page. Burundi is not a Schengen state, so the Schengen 90/180 rule and ETIAS do not apply.