My wife and I would love to travel to Dubai this September, but we have Israeli stamps on our passports. We visited Jerusalem some time ago, and on another occasion, travelled through Israel in order to reach Jordan. We are UK citizens, but will this prevent us from visiting the Emirates? John and Sharon Clift, by email

The Sunday Times travel expert responds: No it won' t. The United Arab Emirates is one of several countries in the region that will allow you to enter if you've been to Israel. Others doing the same include Egypt, Jordan, and Oman. However, there is another group that refuse entry to anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passports, regardless of their nationality, including Libya, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

In some cases, immigration officials will look for other signs of a visit to Israel, knowing that it is quite normal for the Israeli authorities to stamp a separate piece of paper, rather than your actual passport. Fly directly into and out of Tel Aviv or Eilat and you'll be fine, but if you went on a side trip to Aqaba, Amman, Cairo or Sanai, you may well have Egyptian or Jordanian stamps at the border crossings, and this could be a problem.

Before travelling anywhere, you should always check the latest visa requirements well in advance, either with your travel agent, tour operator, or the Embassy or High Commission of the countries that you are intending to visit.

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