DUBAI (Kashmir English): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to resume issuing visit visas to Pakistani citizens who apply through the country’s registered travel agencies.
This decision comes as good news for thousands of visitors from Pakistan since their travel plans had been stalled for several months due to visa-related issues.
“This move signifies a major alleviation of visa processing for Pakistanis, especially for those intending to take their loved ones on vacation or visit family members residing within these territories,” said an official statement issued by the UAE government. “One of Pakistan’s most crucial overseas locations is the UAE, which hosts approximately 1.8 million Pakistani expatriates.”
As per reports released by travel industry representatives, previous applications for family visas used to face extensive delays before they could be granted, but this problem seems to have subsided with the introduction of the latest policy.
“The UAE embassy has begun giving out visas for travel with family members,” says Muhammad Nadeem Sharif, CEO at Aroma Travels and ex-chairman of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP). “We’re seeing positive changes.”
Tourism campaigns are back on track, according to travel agent reports, but passenger numbers still need time to bounce back. Pakistani immigration officials report that numbers have risen since recent regional tensions, from around 170 per day earlier this summer, up to nearly 400 per day as of the end of July — still short of the approximately 1,000 per day travellers were seeing two years ago.
TAAP office-bearer Muhammad Hanif Rinch said that in recent weeks there has been improvement in approvals for family visas following years of high rejections for individual applications.
An official from the UAE Embassy in Islamabad confirmed to Dawn that ordinary passport-holders can now secure visit visas through their registered travel agencies. “We’re processing those with full documents without any great difficulty,” he added.
The visa facilitation comes after months of concern about increasing scrutiny on Pakistani applicants despite both Pakistan and the UAE consistently denying they were implementing an official ban on visas. Applicants, however, report protracted delays as well as increased rejection rates.
