Australian Government has raised the level of advice for the United Arab Emirates to do not travel.

Latest update 08 March 2026 : The Australian Government has directed the departure of all dependants of Australian officials posted to the UAE in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.

Due to the volatile security situation in the region and military strikes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we’ve raised our level of advice for the UAE to do not travel. The UAE airspace may open or close at short notice, impacting flights at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports. Retaliatory strikes are occurring across the Middle East region following military strikes on Iran. Military conflict in the region may result in widespread movement restrictions, and other travel disruptions.

Prioritise your safety, monitor events and follow local advice, including instructions to shelter in place during strikes. Be aware of your environment and avoid government, military or energy infrastructure, including oil production facilities and US diplomatic locations. Monitor local warning systems and if warned of an imminent attack, move to an enclosed hardened shelter, ideally underground or close to ground level if available. If these are not available, seek an inner room without windows.

Terrorism is a threat, including in the UAE. Terrorist attacks could happen at any time or anywhere. Avoid possible targets including venues that draw in foreigners, tourists or crowds where possible. Maintain a high level of security awareness. If there's a security incident, follow the advice of local authorities (see 'Safety').

Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members in the UAE can register on DFAT's registration portal to receive direct updates from DFAT. See 'Safety' for the link to register. Keep your registration details up to date so we can contact you with important information.

Consider a commercial option to depart if you can secure one and it's safe to travel to the departure point. You should consider recent attacks in your area and that airports and aircraft are more vulnerable to these strikes. You should verify the status of any border crossing before you travel by air, land or sea. Make sure you have access to food, water and essential medicines.

US Embassies in the Middle East are issuing local security alerts. We encourage you to monitor US security alerts in your location and follow this advice.

Demonstrations and protest activity may also occur, and local security situations could deteriorate with little notice. Australian officials are sheltering in place during strikes.

Having trouble getting in touch? See ‘Local contacts’ for phone and email contacts for our Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate-General in Dubai, and follow them on social media. Due to military action, there was a temporary loss of services for mobile networks in the UAE and other destinations in the region. Phone lines for affected Embassies and Consulates are being diverted to the Australian Government's Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra.

If you need emergency consular assistance, contact the Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 (if you're overseas) and 1300 555 135 (in Australia).

We now advise:

Do not travel to the UAE due to the volatile security situation in the region.