UAE suspends issuance of visit visas to Pakistan and 11 other countries

The United Arab Emirates has temporarily suspended issuance of visit visas to Pakistan and eleven other countries, until further notice. The decision is “believed to be related to the second wave of Covid-19”. The suspension will not apply to visas that have already been issued. It was not immediately clear how many categories of visas would be affected by the suspension.

The development was confirmed by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez, who said that written instructions had not been issued to the airline so far. He said that people holding iqama, transit and work visas were still allowed entry in the UAE.

Besides Pakistan, the UAE government has suspended visas for Turkey, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Kenya and Afghanistan among others.

Source: Dawn