DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Travel agencies in countries across
the Middle East and Africa say the United Arab Emirates has temporarily halted
issuing new visas to their citizens, a so-far unexplained ban on visitors amid
both the coronavirus pandemic and the UAE's normalization deal with Israel.
Confusion over the UAE visa ban targeting 11 Muslim-majority nations, in
addition to Lebanon and Kenya, swirled after a leaked document from Dubai’s
state-owned airport free zone surfaced this week, declaring restrictions
against a range of nationalities.
Emirati authorities have not acknowledged the suspension that comes as
the UAE welcomes Israeli tourists for the first time in history, the
coronavirus pandemic surges across the region and those searching for work in
the federation of seven sheikhdoms increasingly overstay their tourist visas
amid a cascade of business shutdowns and lay-offs.
Citing an order from the country’s immigration authorities, the note to
companies operating in Dubai’s airport free zone announced a pause in issuing
all new employment, long and short-term visit visas “until further notice” from
countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq and
Tunisia, without offering a reason. Those already holding visas would not be
affected, it said.
The revelation has gripped social media feeds and news outlets
worldwide, underscoring the UAE's global status as magnet for expat workers and
visitors who outnumber locals nearly nine to one in the country.
When asked by The Associated Press about the order, the country's
immigration department said it’s “not aware of any formal list of nationalities
requiring visa suspension.” Dubai’s airport free zone confirmed the veracity of
the document to the AP and said it was waiting for further clarification from officials.
Meanwhile, across the region, agencies and authorities say their
citizens are forbidden from entering the UAE.
Travel agents in Pakistan said the UAE has barred single men under the
age of 50 from the country, although those traveling with family can still
obtain visas. Last week, Pakistan’s foreign office said it had “learnt that the
UAE has temporarily suspended the issuance of new visit visas” in a move
“believed to be related to the second wave of COVID-19.”
Bestways Travel company south of Islamabad was skeptical. “With such
specific age and gender limits, obviously this has nothing to do with the
coronavirus,” agent Jamchit Agha said. He said it was more likely tied to
security concerns, or fears about young men overstaying visas to find jobs in
Dubai, the region's financial hub. Dubai relies on millions of low-paid expat
workers from Southeast Asia.
Several travel companies across Afghanistan also claimed the UAE had
stopped issuing visas to citizens, without offering any explanation.
In Kenya, speculation has spread that the country landed on the UAE's
blacklist over a spate of fake certificates showing negative results on
coronavirus tests used to travel to the UAE, resulting in 21 arrests Thursday.
Four travel agencies in the capital Nairobi said they were seeking
clarification from Emirati authorities after dozens of tourist visas were
rejected. Travel Shore Africa, one of the agencies, said 40 of its clients
bound for Dubai had been blocked from boarding their flight last-minute on
Thursday.
Two travel agents in Lebanon, a country that has sent legions of skilled
workers to the UAE as its own economy plunged, confirmed visa applications were
currently on hold except for those with a foreign passport or residency in a
third country. Both companies have stopped issuing visas until they receive
clear instructions.
Travel agents in Damascus have struggled over the past two weeks to
understand why Syria had been removed from a list of countries eligible to
apply for visas online. One agent assumed the omission was a technical glitch
until a colleague told him that authorities had also stopped issuing visas to
Syrians.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf said Iraq has not been
officially informed of an Emirati travel ban against its citizens, but the
country was aware of the reported blacklist and is following up through
diplomatic channels. An employee at Dubai's budget airline, FlyDubai, in
Baghdad said the company was taking far fewer visa applications, pending
instructions expected next week.
Saeed Mohammed, an agent at Arabian Nights Tours in Dubai, said he
frequently faces difficulties obtaining UAE entry visas for Iranians, Turkish
citizens and those from Yemen's rebel-held capital due to simmering political
tensions. The UAE's recent normalization deal with Israel, which now allows
Israelis to visit the emirate's skyscraper-studded cities visa-free, has cast a
spotlight on a changing Middle East. Gulf leaders have come to see Israel, a
former enemy, as a key ally against the shared threats of Iran and the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Despite long-standing visa troubles, Mohammed said he's never seen the
100% visa rejection rate of the past week, with some dozen visitor visas denied
each day from Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and other countries.
“We can only assume that there has been some change in the law, but in
reality, no one knows," he said.
Mohammad Hosseini, Iran’s Chargé d’Affaires in the UAE, wrote on Twitter
Thursday that he's following up with the Emirati Foreign Ministry after hearing
the visa ban applies to 13 countries “temporarily and until further
notice." A travel agent in Tehran said Iranians hadn’t received visas to
enter the UAE since early August.
One travel agent in Istanbul said she wasn't at all surprised by the
ban, especially given the UAE's growing trend of rejecting Turkish visas over
the past few months — the result of a political rivalry, not the coronavirus,
she added.
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