UAE Halts Issuing Visas to Pakistanis Due to Concerns Over Criminal Activities: Officials

The United Arab Emirates has ceased issuing regular visas to Pakistani nationals, with a top Pakistani official acknowledging that the decision is connected to worries about Pakistanis heading to the Gulf nation and getting involved in criminal activities, as per a report by Dawn. Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry disclosed to Pakistan’s Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE had unofficially suspended visa issuance for Pakistanis, except for blue and diplomatic passport holders. He mentioned that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had refrained from implementing a complete ban on Pakistani passports, indicating that it would be challenging to lift if imposed. Committee chairperson Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri affirmed the claims, attributing the restriction to instances where Pakistani visitors engaged in illegal activities in the UAE. She highlighted the UAE’s decision due to rising concerns about Pakistanis partaking in criminal behavior. She noted that only a few visas had been granted recently, and even those were difficult to obtain. The issue has been ongoing for several months, with Pakistanis facing extensive visa rejections since July, prompting Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to address the matter with his UAE counterpart. In a meeting on July 11, UAE Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured ‘full support’ but did not reverse the restrictions, as reported by Dawn. Earlier in April, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi had claimed visa issues were ‘resolved,’ asserting that Pakistanis could access a five-year visa, a statement contradicted by Islamabad’s officials. Concerns over misuse of visit visas by Pakistani nationals have been a recurring issue, with reports in January indicating that some UAE visas had been informally closed.