UAE GCAA allows all visa holders to travel to Dubai from midnight

KARACHI: The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has allowed all visa holders to visit the Kingdom from August 30 in the latest directives issued to the airlines, ARY NEWS reported.     

According to details, Pakistani citizens having UAE visas of any category could travel to the country from 12:00 am tonight. Citizens from 14 countries including India, Bangladesh, Namibia, Sri Lanka and others are also allowed to travel.

According to the directives issued by the GCAA, the travelers would undergo rapid PCR tests ahead of the flight to Dubai while making airlines responsible for the negative test of the travelers.

It said that in case of a passenger testing positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival in the kingdom, the concerned airline would be responsible for it.

On Sunday, it was reported that the authorities in the UAE have announced to resume issuing tourist visas starting August 30.

Application for tourist visas will be open to people from all countries starting August 30 with a single condition that they are vaccinated against Covid. However, that only the vaccinations approved by World Health Organization (WHO) are accepted by the Kingdom.

Other than work, transit, student or medical visa, those interested in visiting the destination for tourism only may now also plan their itinerary in the UAE starting tomorrow.

All the tourism passengers arriving in the UAE will be required to take a mandatory rapid PCR test at the airport as soon as they land.

For those still unvaccinated, including ones whose vaccination is not WHO-approved, the previous restrictions and exemptions, remain in place.

Moreover, if you are stuck due to remaining unvaccinated against Covid or not getting WHO-approved ones, you can still benefit from the new relaxation in the UAE by registering for their vaccination via the ICA platform or Al Hosn application.