The United Arab Emirates has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani nationals, virtually banning their entry into the country, as informed by a senior Interior Ministry official of Pakistan to a Senate panel on Thursday (27th November).
According to reports, while briefing the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry said that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had “stopped short of imposing a ban on the Pakistani passport”. He added that the decision of the two countries would be difficult to reverse. Chaudhry said that the UAE has restricted the issuance of visas to blue passports, reserved for government officials and diplomatic passport holders only. Ordinary Pakistanis using a green passport are no longer able to get UAE visas.
Confirming the update, Committee chairperson Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri said that the restriction was linked to the concerns of Pakistani nationals getting involved in criminal activities in the UAE. Zehri added that the UAE has issued very few visas to Pakistani nationals in recent months.
Interestingly, the same day, the UAE Ambassador to Pakistan reportedly briefed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on new visa facilitation measures for Pakistanis. The Finance Ministry said that the ambassador outlined reforms such as online applications, e-visas without passport stamping, faster digital linkages, and processing at the newly launched UAE Visa Centre, which is handling around 500 applications daily.
Notably, Pakistani nationals travelling to the UAE have repeatedly faced visa restrictions this year. In July this year, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi raised the issue with the UAE authorities after several cases of visa rejections. This led to UAE Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assuring Pakistan that visa approvals will be sped up. In April this year, the UAE ambassador said that visa issues had been resolved and Pakistanis would be eligible for a five-year visa.
