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No visa restrictions on Egyptians

DUBAI — Egyptians are not denied any visa, be it for visit, employment or residence, and no entry restrictions have been imposed on any grounds,

A top officer with the Residency and Foreigners Affairs Department in Dubai, told Khaleej Times on Monday.

“The procedures adopted long ago still apply; all types of visa are issued and renewed for Egyptians with no change at all,” he said.

Some media reports, rumours and comments on Twitter and Facebook, alleged that Egyptians are now denied visas as a result of the political situation there and the trial of the former President Hosni Mubarak.

“This is not true, many visas are issued for Egyptians today and others are smoothly renewed without any difficulties or restrictions,” the same officer, who wished to be unidentified, said.

“Some Egyptians, like others, are simply denied visas for nothing but security reasons,” he added.

An Egyptian resident, who wished to remain unidentified, said some of his friends failed to get new visas or have their residence visas renewed after the January 25 revolution in Egypt.

“Officials at the immigration and labour departments attributed the disapproval to a ban on Egyptians.”

Mahmoud, an Egyptian whose application for position amendment was refused, said he managed to get a job offer with a school in Sharjah during his three-month visit visa. “When trying to change my entry permit into an employment visa, my application was disapproved.”

Asem, whose application for residence visa renewal was rejected, said he was in a real mess. “I will be liable to legal action against my car and tenancy bank loans.”Tamer Mansour, Egyptian Ambassador to the UAE denied the ban.

“Some Egyptians did complain about the refusal of their visa applications here. But, the authorities concerned denied any restrictions, and talked about individual cases on security grounds.”

Mansour said disapproving two or even 10 visas is absolutely normal and represents no crisis with around 241,000 Egyptians staying and working in the UAE. “Every country is free to lay down whatever conditions it deems right for granting visas to expatriates.”

The ambassador then said the Egyptian Embassy is in direct contact and continuous coordination with the authorities here in such rare cases to know about the reasons behind the rejection of visas.

“There is no verbal or written ban on the Egyptian workforce. A PR with a recruitment agency here told me about 25 new visas issued on the same day I received some complaints on visa denial,” he said. Mohab Nasr, Consul General of Egypt in Dubai and northern emirates, said all the allegations raised on this issue are baseless.

“There is no official decision on banning Egyptians from entering or working in the UAE.”

The Consulate has urged all the Egyptians who may face any problem in obtaining or renewing visa to approach it. “We have already received some 15 to 20 visa-related complaints, and contacted the Emirati authorities for comment,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to give a comment in a few days. Nasr then said all the complaints are individual, and have just appeared in the last week.

“There is no relation, between such a decision, if any, and the Egyptian revolution which is three months old now.”

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com