Can you bring tobacco or cigarettes to United Arab Emirates?

• Paan & nasvaar

  prohibited

  Dubai Customs' Passenger Customs Guide lists 'Nasvaar and Betel leaves (paan) of any kind' as an example of items not allowed for import by passengers — a distinct, absolute prohibition separate from the ordinary duty-free tobacco allowance (200 cigarettes / 50 cigars / 500g pipe tobacco). This is easy for travelers from South Asia to miss, since paan and nasvaar are common, everyday items at home that don't register as 'tobacco products' the way cigarettes do, and the ordinary tobacco allowance gives no hint that a specific product within that category is banned outright rather than just limited.

  Also covers: paan, betel leaf, betel nut, nasvaar, naswar, gutka, chewing tobacco

  Checked 2026-09-14 — Source: Dubai Customs — Passenger Customs Guide, Version 6 (2025), "Examples of items not allowed for import by passengers"

• Tobacco

  allowed, within limits

  One of: 200 cigarettes, or 50 cigars, or 500 g of tobacco (minced or pressed for pipes), tumbak (pure tobacco), or hookah/shisha molasses, duty-free per traveler aged 18 or over. Customs duty is imposed on excess quantities.

  No tobacco allowance for travelers under 18.

  Also covers: tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, shisha, hookah molasses

  Checked 2026-08-13 — Source: Dubai Customs — Passenger Customs Guide, Version 6 (2025)

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Informational only — not legal advice. Customs rules change; confirm with the official source above before you travel. See update history