Do UAE passport holders need a visa to visit CF?

UAE ordinary passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival in the Central African Republic (a bilateral arrangement in force since 8 October 2019), but this is NOT reflected in airline (IATA Timatic) systems, so you risk being denied boarding. For a reliable trip, get a tourist visa in advance from a CAR embassy/consulate. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory. The Central African Republic (CF) grants visa on arrival to United Arab Emirates citizens under an arrangement noted on the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and effective from 8 October 2019. However, CAR does not operate a general electronic-visa or airport visa-on-arrival regime for most nationalities, and the UAE-specific VOA concession is not propagated to IATA Timatic, the database airlines use to decide who may board. As a result, real travelers frequently face boarding denial if they rely on VOA alone. Several commercial websites describe UAE nationals as "visa-free," but this conflates a visa waiver with the visa-on-arrival concession; the UAE MOFA's own destination guidance lists CAR conservatively as visa-required. Because sources conflict and the no-pre-visa channel cannot be reliably confirmed at the airline boarding stage, the safest practical advice is to secure a tourist visa in advance through the nearest CAR embassy or consulate (the CAR mission accredited to the Gulf is the most direct route). A yellow fever vaccination certificate is a strict entry condition, and passports must be valid at least six months with two blank pages. Security conditions in CAR remain volatile, so check travel advisories before departure.