By Ghulam Haider
The Council General of the United Arab Emirates has quashed the rumors that authorities in the UAE have restricted visit visas for Pakistanis belonging to some specific cities.
The Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in Karachi H.E Bakheet Ateeq Al Romaithi has said that there is no truth that visit visas are being denied to people from specific cities of origin in Pakistan.
‘No ban has been imposed on Pakistani citizens and visas are being issued indiscriminately,’ he told a private television channel, and added that he himself was issuing visas to people belonging to different cities.
He expressed dismay over the news and stated that he was unaware of who was behind this disinformation campaign.
However, immigration officials in Lahore said that the restriction has been imposed by the UAE immigration authorities due to multiple reasons including visa rules violations. But the potential visitors with a clean travel history and sound bank statement still stand a good chance of getting a UAE visit visa.
In 2020, UAE imposed ” temporary nature of restrictions on visas issuance due to the outbreak of Covid-19,” for countries such as Lebanon, Kenya, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.
The UAE government has already put a ban on issuing visit visas to Pakistani citizens belonging to 22 cities, but a news has been making rounds on different social media platforms that now the Emirates has added a couple of more cities of the country to its list of banned cities.
First, the UAE immigration authorities put 12 cities of Pakistan on a list of visit visa ban cities. Then the number was increased to 22, and now with the addition of two more cities, the UAE immigration authorities would deny visit visa to Pakistanis belonging to these 24 cities.
Reportedly, the UAE imposed restrictions on the people of these cities because of the misstatement of the agents who sent them on visit visa but told them that they were being sent on work visa.
Aviation experts say that travel agent mafia is involved in bringing bad name to the country. In August this year, the UAE aviation authorities deported 80 Pakistanis who had visit visas with dummy return tickets and other multiple reasons.
After receiving a query from a passenger at Dubai airport, the Consulate Staff of the Pakistan Embassy in UAE visited the airport and found out that the UAE Immigration Authorities had stopped entry to around 80 Pakistani nationals at Dubai airport for multiple reasons.
A total of 40 of them were deported to Pakistan and the rest were sent back on various available flights.
Immigration authorities cited the following reasons for their deportation with the main reason being that they held visit visas and had dummy return tickets.
The passengers were unable to show enough money to sustain in UAE. Most of them reportedly informed the UAE immigration authorities that they came to UAE for employment purposes. However, they were holding visit visas.
UAE Visit Visa
Depending on your plan, tourist visas to the UAE can be issued for 30 days or 90 days for single or multiple entries. Tourist visas can be extended for 30 days twice, without the need to leave the country. Tourist visas to UAE can be applied for on this website https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/vis-and-exploring-the-uae/tourist-visa
A tourist visa is for those who are not eligible for a visa on arrival or a visa-free entry to the UAE. Tourist visas can be obtained for eligible individual tourists from around the world. Females below 18 are not eligible to apply for this type of visa unless they are travelling with their parents.
According to a Cabinet resolution passed in July 2018, children under the age of 18 years who are accompanying adults, can get a free visa for their visit from 15 July to 15 September each year.
UAE Work Visa
To expedite the process of work visas, MoHRE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has set up centres outside the UAE.
At the centres, employees would be able to know their rights, duties and terms and conditions of employment and all privileges they are entitled to, in the language they understand. This mechanism ensures a transparent contractual relationship between employers and employees and prevents any fraudulent attempt to replace job offers upon the arrival of the employee in the UAE.
To apply for a visa through E-Services Portal (E-Visa) & for all relevant information, please click on the link.
The time frame for the issuance of visas for each category is mentioned on the visa website. Therefore, the status of visas applied online can be checked through the applicant’s online account. The Embassy cannot update anything about visa status through phone calls/emails.
It is to be noted that UAE hosts about 1.7 million Pakistanis. The data by the State Bank of Pakistan confirms that the volume of remittances from the UAE to Pakistan in fiscal year 2022 was $2555.22 million, implying that a sizeable Pakistani workforce is employed in the country in diverse fields from banks to real estate.
The cities on which the Emirates immigration authorities have put a ban include Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan, Bajaur, Hangu, Kohat, Kurram, Mohmand, districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Chakwal, Attock, Kasur, Sahiwal, and Khoshab of Punjab Province. The Sindh three districts that include Nawabshah, Larkana, and Sukkur were also banned for issuance of visit visa. Other cities include Quetta, Skardu, Hunza, and Kotli.
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