Have you experienced standing in queues at the Dubai airport waiting to get through immigration?

Something called e-Gate will save you from that hassle every time you get through Dubai immigration

What is e-gate and why you should use it?

You probably have noticed some part of the immigration look like a subway station - instead of going to see customs officers, passengers walk pass a row of automatic gates after scanning their cards

This is the power of e-Gate and its smart card. It helps you save time and preserve your dignity

• Time - My personal experience tells me it saves 20 minutes from waiting at the super-crowded Economy class departure hall. On arrival, it saves 20 minutes
• Risks of being delayed - I have been delayed by immigration officers, perhaps because they see stamps from countries that’d suggest suspicious behavior. The e-Gate will solve this problem because you don’t have to show your passport
• Passport space - Not having to show your passport will save you some valuable space for other trips - bear in mind every 4 UAE stamp fill a page on the passport
• Physchological benefits - Don’t you feel happy and privileged when you can get through immigration in a split second?

How can you get it?

• You must first be in Dubai. They’ll approve applications even if you’re a visitor! The good news is that you don’t have to be a Dubai resident
• When you go to the Dubai airport for your next departure, arrive 10 minutes earlier than usual
• Go to the Emirates Airport economy class (non-US destinations) departure hall. Head to the 2nd floor. Follow the big signs to the e-Gate office
• The e-Gate staff will help you with the process. You only need to bring your passport and pay AED 200 (~USD 50). Your card will be ready in 10 minutes and you can try it out at the departure gate!
• Or if you want to do it in town, call the Dubai Airline Center at +971-4-3166-966 and find out their locations

What do others say?

Other travelers have written about e-Gates. Here are what they said

World of Pradeep - an Expat living in Dubai

“Anyways thanks to Egate card I dont have to wait on long ques and I can quicky exit from the emmigration counters…”

Chris Saul’s Blog

“eGate is utterly brilliant - every Dubai resident should get one, regardless of how often they fly”

Hiroex - Japanese expat in Dubai

“有効期間は2年間で発行手数料200Dhs（約6,000円）はちょっと高いけど、ただでさえ夜中早朝発着の多いドバイ空港を待ち時間なしにスマートに通れるのならその価値もありですね”

An English Man in Dubai - as a frequent traveler, he reveals what is in his bag

“E-Gate card – the best thing I thing the Dubai authorities have ever introduced for whizzing through immigration at Dubai airport”

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to travelers is delay at the airport. The issue has been particularly serious in Kuwait for arriving visitors who’re non-GCC Nationals. There have been times when I had to wait more than 2 hours at the airport before being allowed to enter the country. So I decide to find out and share some tips to help other people save time. Hope this is useful for you

The problem - lengthy visa procedure at Kuwait International Airport

Kuwait has a visa process that is restrictive by international standard. Every non-GCC visitor has to apply for visa in advance before entering Kuwait. In 2004, the Ministry of Interior has adopted a policy to open up its borders. Nationals of the following countries can apply for visa at the airport

1. USA.
2. UK.
3. France.
4. Italy.
5. Germany.
6. Canada.
7. Australia.
8. New Zealand.
9. Japan.
10. The Netherlands.
11. Belgium.
12. Luxembourg.
13. Switzerland.
14. Austria.
15. Sweden.
16. Norway.
17. Denmark.
18. Portugal.
19. Ireland.
20. Greece.
21. Finland.
22. Spain.
23. Monaco.
24. the Vatican.
25. Iceland.
26. Andorra.
27. San Marino.
28. Liechtenstein.
29. Brunei.
30. Singapore.
31. Malaysia.
32. Hong Kong.
33. South Korea.
34. China.*

*They recently excluded China, but the decision was not publicized. Customs officials told me they originally did not plan to restrict Chinese visitors. However, thousands of prostitutes and criminals flock to the country and stay there using the loophole. Therefore, when you arrive at Kuwait International Airport today, you will see notice boards stating people from these 34 countries can obtain visa there, with big crosses covering the word “China”. Moreover, Nationals of Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong were screened in extra caution (that means extra wait time!), because Kuwaiti officials are concerned that Chinese may try using fake passports of these 3 countries to enter Kuwait. They have no way to tell from the look, whether someone is from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong or China

Usually people need to wait for 1 - 1.5 hour to have a visa issued. If you don’t want to wait, here is a good service to use

Solution - Hala (Meet-and-greet) Services
Realizing this problem, entrepreneurs have found a way to speed up the visa process. This is a service run by a private company called Hala Services Kuwait. User can register online or call them at +965-842-842 (Ext. 304) to ask for help. Of all the services they provide (from welcoming you by flowers and dates at the gate to wheelchair assistance), I recommend the airport visa service

I tried it myself. As soon as I stepped out of the plane, I saw a lady holding up a cardboard with my name on it. Then she escorted me directly to the visa counter. Instead of waiting in line with the other ~100 travelers, we bypassed the whole process by using a special counter. 15 minutes later, I was already outside the airport

It costs 1 KD (~3.5 USD), but it’s worth it as I don’t have to worry about waiting. Now I don’t have to worry about arriving after a 747-400 from Amsterdam, and how long I have to wait until they give you a visa

For more information,

Hala Services in Kuwait’s International Airport

Kuwaitah website on Kuwait visa procedure

For frequent fliers, finding the best route is a constant headache. People always want to find flights that

Meet their time schedule
- For those who travel during the week, flights departing 7 - 9pm are the best. Then you can work the whole day in one city, travel to another and start the next day

Have the least number of stops, or ideally, non-stop

Have the best timed connections
- You don’t want to wait in Heathrow for 8 hours for your connecting flight. Examples of well-timed connection are flights from Taipei to Shanghai, via Jeju Island. Barring direct flights, this is the shortest route between Taiwan and Mainland China, with travel time just ~4 hours

These are some tools that help you plan your trips. Using these programs, you can look at flights and find the route that best fits your need. An handy feature of these programs is that you can use them on the go, without the Internet. The timetables are downloaded automatically when you’re online, and are stored in your computer. They also support Palm and PocketPC

Star Alliance trip planner

Skyteam trip planner

OneWorld trip planner

I have always had bad experience with Kuwait International Airport. Lately I’ve spent many hours just waiting for visa to be issued. They employ a lot of people, but they don’t seem to care about passengers. Rather, they just play with their phones, smoke, make fun of each others, in front of many disgruntled customers! The tip from me is to always have visas pre-arranged before you reach Kuwait soil. That’d save you 2 hours PER TRIP!

To contribute to the world’s body of knowledge on airport satisfaction, or share some of your dissatisfactions with your fellow travelers, feel free to fill in this survey

Alternatively, if you are impressed by the service that an airport has offered, you can nominate your airport of choice for the World Airport Award. In the past, the winners have been Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. Coincidentally, all of them used to be British colonies. If only Heathrow can match them in terms of waiting time, I’ll be 10 times happier

I’m extremely delighted to be able to spend time with two fine gentlemen, a Kuwaiti (Mr. K) and a Croatian (Mr. C). Because of them, I truely feel how fortunate I have been. Both of them have experienced wars first-hand. Mr. K with the First Gulf War and Mr. C with the Yogoslavian war in the early 90’s

One of the conversations with Mr. K goes like this
Me: What do you think about the US?
Mr. K: Well, I can’t say that I agree with the US foreign policy. But I have to be thankful to them. Without America, there’s no Kuwaiti. By the way, our security depends on the US now. So we are friends
Me: Do you feel happy being a friend of the US?
Mr. K: I know their intentions. They didn’t help us because they really love Kuwaitis. But I was in Kuwait City during the whole duration of Iraqi occupation. Life was tough. When the Iraqis retreated, they took everyone they could see hostage. No matter how evil their intentions are, the outcome is that the US saved us
Me: Do you like to continue working with the US?
Mr. K: Sure, we’re making a lot of money. We supply them a lot of things - drinks, rubber, oil, power. Their money is helping us build our industry. It’s good to have American military bases here

Having spent many years in East Asia, cities in the Gulf are amazing to me. Highways are everywhere, everybody drives, the poorer people take taxis. I still miss being able to walk across the street and buy groceries, travel to work by subway, and going to remote tours by train

Density in Gulf cities are a lot lower than in Asia. You’ll quickly notice this when looking at Google Earth, even without the help of official statistics. Zoom to the same scale, say, 5000 feet. East Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore, and Taipei are full of buildings. In Doha, Kuwait City, and Abu Dhabi, it’s a yellow background punctuated by houses and grey highways

This means
- Gulf residents have to own cars to meet their daily needs
- The poor, elderly and disabled are more disadvantaged because they’re unable to drive or afford a car
- More roads are needed to move the same number of people

Even though oil is cheap for them, perhaps the heads of the Dubais should think about more compact city design, so their people will spend more time on the ground, less in their cars

Links on the topic of city planning
The Compact City and Social Justice
Melbourne 2030 - an important element in the plan is increasing pedestrian friendliness and use of public transport, while reducing use of private cars

1. Enrol in EXACTLY 3 frequent flyer programs, no more, no less

Rationale for doing it
There are 3 global airline alliances, Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and OneWorld. They cover most of the routes in the world. If you choose 3 airlines and each belong to one of the alliances, you can travel anywhere with mileage pocketed

Problem if you don’t do it
Some people take flights that don’t fit their schedule well just to earn miles in their preferred airlines. One of my friends, who’s a Cathay Pacific member, picked a flight very early in the morning just for the Miles. Enroling in 3 programs avoids this unncessary compromise. If he is also a Singapore Airline member, he could have gotten a much better schedule between Singapore and Hong Kong

Exmaple of how this is done - Hong Kong as base city, with lots of traveling (>50 sectors a year) within Asia and moderate traveling (10 - 20 sectors a year) outside Asia

Preferred options depending on your routing. They should be complimentary, so if you have JAL already, you wouldn’t want ANA as well
1. OneWorld - Cathay Pacific / JAL
2. Star Alliance - Thai Airways / Singapore Airlines / ANA / Asiana / Air China
3. SkyTeam - Korean Air / Delta / China Southern

Recommendation
1. OneWorld - Cathay Pacific
2. Star Alliance - Singapore Airlines
3. SkyTeam - Korean Air

Exceptions
If a lot of your trips involve the Middle East, enrol in 4 programs. 3 airlines in each alliance, plus the Emirates. It is essential to get Emirates status as it covers many routes from Dubai, a major regional hub. Separately, if you fly extensively to/from Taiwan, getting China Airlines / Eva membership helps