Confusion persists over UAE visas for Pakistanis
December 20, 2017
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government resumed issuing tourist visas for Pakistani nationals, Travel Agents Association Chairman Naeem Sharif informed Geo News on Wednesday.
While Sharif claimed that earlier visas were not being issued to Pakistanis due to a technical glitch; travel agents that Geo.tv reached out to in Islamabad, Karachi and Dubai presented a different picture.
A travel agent in Islamabad told Geo.tv, visa applications were pending for over ten days and no new applications were being accepted. He did clarify that visa applications had not been rejected.
When asked, a leading travel agency in Karachi confirmed to Geo.tv that the issue was still persisting and they were trying to secure visas for their clients.
For a third perspective, Geo.tv reached out to a travel agency in Dubai. The agency confirmed that visas were being delayed not rejected. When asked if it was possible to get a visa to spend NYE in Dubai, the agent told Geo.tv plainly, that it was not possible.
Earlier, officials of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP) claimed that the UAE government rejected visit visa applications from Pakistanis, and asked travel agents not to apply until further notice.
The TAAP officials said that the visa restrictions were imposed for Pakistanis only, as around 300,000 Pakistanis were already in Dubai on visit visas.
However, while speaking to Khaleej Times, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs of Dubai denied the claim.
"Visitors from Pakistan are welcome to enter Dubai after obtaining a visa. The situation is normal," it said.
However, when Geo.tv reached out to the Press Officer at the UAE Embassy in Islamabad, he declined to comment on the matter.
