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Greek short-stay visas for UAE residents are decided by the consular office of the Embassy of Greece in Abu Dhabi; the only Greek office in Dubai on the embassy's contact page is a commercial section. VFS Global takes the applications at its centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and you may use either.
Greece is not on our free Telegram channel; personal alerts for it cost AED 110 for 30 days. This guide covers the centres, the form, the documents on the VFS checklist for the UAE, and the fees, where the embassy and VFS quote different numbers. For the general rules, see how to apply for a Schengen visa from the UAE.
Where you apply
Apply to Greece if it is your main destination: where you stay longest or, with equal stays, where you first enter the Schengen Area. The embassy says short-stay applications can be lodged at either VFS Global centre:
- Dubai: Wafi Mall, first floor, Phase 5 (Horus), Umm Hurair 2.
- Abu Dhabi: World Trade Center Mall, level B2.
Both take applications Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 15:00. Each member of a family or group needs their own appointment. VFS says an appointment can be cancelled only up to three days before, and a new booking means paying the service fee again.
Step by step
- 1
Complete the application form
Download the PDF form from Greece's VFS page for the UAE and fill it in on screen, in English or Greek, then print and sign it. VFS asks for the form to be filled in online, and its checklist says handwritten forms are not accepted. - 2
Book at VFS Global
On Greece's VFS booking page, for Dubai or Abu Dhabi. You receive a confirmation email and an appointment letter. - 3
Gather the documents
In English or Greek, or translated into one of them; the main UAE-specific points are below. - 4
Attend the appointment
Give fingerprints and pay the visa fee and the VFS service fee at the centre. For a minor, both parents sign the form and the consent in front of the officer. - 5
Wait for the decision
The embassy says decisions are made as a rule within 15 calendar days; VFS Global quotes at least 15 working days, and its checklist 21 calendar days. Plan on the longer figure.
Documents
The country's own checklist is the one that counts. The core of it:
- Passport issued within the last ten years, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages.
- UAE residence visa and Emirates ID, valid beyond your return.
- The signed application form and a photo to the ICAO passport standard.
- Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
- Recent bank statements, and a salary certificate or employer letter if you are employed.
- A flight reservation, and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.
On top of that, the VFS Global checklist for the UAE asks for:
- A UAE residence permit valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area (GCC citizens: an Emirates ID valid as long), with copies of it, of the passport data page and of previous Schengen visas.
- An original letter from your employer giving your status, position, length of contract and salary, with a copy of the company's trade licence; the self-employed bring their original trade licence.
- Bank statements for the last three months, originally stamped by the bank; internet extracts are not accepted. Pay slips also count as proof of funds.
- The insurance certificate with its cover details (copies of insurance cards are not accepted), a return flight reservation that matches the form, and a full travel itinerary.
- For minors and anyone sponsored by a parent, a birth certificate; if sponsored by a spouse, a marriage certificate attested by the issuing country's embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fees and processing time
- Visa fee, adults
- €90; VFS lists AED 360 (VFS Global, November 2026)
- Children under 12
- Free of charge, according to VFS Global’s fee table
- VFS service fee
- AED 88 at both centres, cash or card (VFS Global, November 2026)
- Processing
- 15 calendar days as a rule, according to the embassy; VFS says at least 15 working days
The embassy's visa page gives the VFS service fee as AED 80, while VFS Global's fee table and centre pages say AED 88 (November 2026).
Applications and refusals
In 2025, the consulates of Greece in the UAE received 13,587 short-stay Schengen visa applications: 4.6% of all those lodged in the UAE, and the 9th most of any Schengen country. They refused 15.6% of the applications they decided; across every Schengen country in the UAE the rate was 24.2%, according to the European Commission's visa statistics.
- Applications, 2025
- 13,587
- Rank in the UAE
- 9th of 27 Schengen countries
- Refused
- 15.6%
- All Schengen countries in the UAE
- 24.2% refused
The Commission counts applications where they are lodged, not by nationality, so in the UAE they come mostly from residents of other nationalities. A refusal rate is an average over every applicant and says little about any one file; and the country you apply to is set by your main destination, not by its refusal rate.
What applicants reported
Not enough applicants in the UAE have reported a Greece visa yet to show their own figures; these are the 50 reports from every origin. The median time from appointment to passport back was 10 days.
- Reports
- 50
- Appointment to passport back (median)
- 10 days; typically 7–16 days
- Approved
- 94% of 50 with a known outcome
- Validity granted (median)
- 3 months
- Multiple entry
- 66%
How often new dates appear
Dubai. Our monitors saw new Greece appointments appear in Dubai 79 times in the last 90 days, on 39 different days; the typical gap between two releases was about 7 hours. The latest release we saw was on 29 October at 12:42 UAE time. Over the past year (494 releases) they were spread across the week and the day, with no day or hour that stands out: new dates can appear at any time.
Abu Dhabi. Our monitors saw new Greece appointments appear in Abu Dhabi 60 times in the last 90 days, on 32 different days; the typical gap between two releases was about 10 hours. The latest release we saw was on 17 October at 06:06 UAE time. Over the past year (257 releases) they were spread across the week and the day, with no day or hour that stands out: new dates can appear at any time.
Getting the appointment
The form is the easy part. The hard part is a free date at the Greece visa application centre: when demand is high the calendar can stay empty, and new dates go quickly when they appear.
These are the ways to get a date, including ours:
Check the VFS Global portal yourself
Free
Who books: You
Log in, choose the centre and category, and look at the calendar. New dates appear when the centre releases them or someone cancels, so this means checking again and again.
The portal’s waitlist, where it is offered
Free
Who books: You, when a place is offered
VFS Global runs a waitlist for select countries in the UAE; Germany's, for example, offers slots to waitlisted applicants in chronological order. Right now our board shows a waitlist for Germany and Switzerland. A waitlist place is not an appointment.
Visa Catcher free channel (@UAEVFSBot)Our service
Free
Who books: You
Greece is not on the free channel, which covers Belgium, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. Use personal alerts for Greece.
Visa Catcher personal alertsOur service
AED 110 / 30 days
Who books: You
Telegram alerts for the route you choose, including routes the free channel does not carry. No passport details needed.
Visa Catcher auto-bookingOur service
AED 200 / applicant
Who books: Visa Catcher
We watch the route and book the appointment on the applicant's behalf, so it needs their passport details. Each additional applicant is AED 200.
The live status of each Greece route is on its own page, and every UAE route is on the UAE appointment board. For how the booking portal itself works, see how to book a VFS Global appointment in the UAE.
Questions
- Is there a Greek consulate in Dubai for visas?
- No. Visas for UAE residents are decided by the consular office of the Greek Embassy in Abu Dhabi; the only Greek office in Dubai on the embassy’s contact page is a commercial section. You can still hand in a short-stay application at the VFS Global centre in Dubai (Wafi Mall) as well as in Abu Dhabi.
- Do children pay the Greek visa fee?
- VFS Global’s fee table for the UAE lists children under 12 as free of charge. Adults pay €90, and every applicant pays the VFS service fee.
- Can I fill in the Greek visa form by hand?
- No. Greece’s VFS page for the UAE links the form as a PDF to be filled in online, and the VFS checklist says handwritten forms are not accepted. Complete it in English or Greek, then sign it.
- How long does a Greece visa take from the UAE?
- The embassy says decisions are made as a rule within 15 calendar days. VFS Global quotes at least 15 working days and its checklist 21 calendar days, so apply well ahead of your trip.
- What is the refusal rate for Greece Schengen visas in the UAE?
- In 2025, the consulates of Greece in the UAE refused 15.6% of the short-stay visa applications they decided, against 24.2% across all Schengen countries in the UAE, according to the European Commission’s visa statistics. They received 13,587 applications, the 9th most of any Schengen country.
Sources
- Embassy of Greece in Abu Dhabi: visas
- Embassy of Greece in Abu Dhabi: contact and consular office
- VFS Global Greece, UAE: visa types, fees and processing time
- VFS Global: Greece short-stay checklist for the UAE (PDF)
- VFS Global Greece, UAE: centres and fees
- VFS Global Greece, UAE: booking rules
- VFS Global Greece, UAE: book an appointment
- EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (consolidated text of 28 June 2024)
- European Commission: visa policy and the short-stay visa fee
- European Commission: Schengen visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx)
Rules and fees are set by the consulates and VFS Global and can change; check the official pages above before you apply. Route status and our prices on this page are live. Visa Catcher is an independent appointment-tracking service, not affiliated with VFS Global or any embassy, consulate or government.