UAE: Pakistan Embassy issues travel advisory for visit visa holders

Pakistan Embassy in the UAE on Tuesday issued an advisory, asking its nationals who are coming to the UAE on visit visa and intend to travel to another country to obtain third country’s visa from Pakistan before departing for the UAE.

“If travelling to another country from the UAE, a visa must be obtained before departing Pakistan. Visas for third countries are issued to legal residents with valid Emirates Identity Cards holders only,” said the advisory.

Many Pakistani citizens fly to the UAE to meet their families and friends and then intend to apply for third-country visa in the UAE. But foreign missions of other countries in the UAE require Emirates ID to process visas, hence, they would not be able to apply for a visa by the third country.

Currently, there are around 1.7 million Pakistani nationals living in the United Arab Emirates, accounting for nearly 18 per cent of the UAE’s 9.6 million population. Pakistani nationals are the second largest expat diaspora in the Emirates.

Sajid Hussain Turi, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development, earlier on Monday said 600,000 Pakistanis have gone abroad for jobs since April 2022.

“The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development is working hard to find overseas employment opportunities for the Pakistani workforce. People are requested not to fall prey to human trafficking to waste their precious lives by adopting illegal methods,” said Turi.

Exit before visa expiry

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Embassy in the UAE asked its citizens flying to the country to obtain a “proper visa well in time before departure”.

It advised all Pakistani nationals must exit the UAE before the expiry of their visa to avoid fines.

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