The United Arab Emirates has resumed issuing visit visas to Pakistani citizens applying through registered travel agencies, according to travel industry representatives and a UAE Embassy official on Saturday. The move eases months of uncertainty that had affected travel to one of Pakistan’s most important overseas destinations.
The UAE is home to about 1.8 million Pakistanis and is one of Pakistan’s largest sources of remittances. The latest development comes after months of complaints from applicants about long delays and increased scrutiny, even though both Pakistan and the UAE repeatedly said there was no official visa ban on Pakistani citizens.
Travel industry representatives said the biggest improvement has been for families, as visa applications that previously faced long delays are now being processed more smoothly.
Muhammad Nadeem Sharif, chief executive of Aroma Travels and former chairman of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP), said the UAE Embassy in Pakistan has started issuing visit visas to Pakistani tourists traveling with their families, calling it a positive step.
Sharif said people traveling with family members or visiting relatives already living in the UAE are now receiving visa decisions more quickly. He added that tourism promotion campaigns have resumed and passenger traffic, which had declined during recent regional tensions, is gradually recovering.
Immigration data also shows an increase in travel.
A senior Pakistani immigration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told that the number of passengers traveling daily from Pakistan to Dubai has increased from about 170 earlier this summer to about 400 by the last week of July.
However, the official said the figure remains well below the nearly 1,000 daily passengers recorded two years ago.
Muhammad Hanif Rinch, an office-bearer of TAAP, also said the situation has improved, with more family visa applications being approved after years of high rejection rates for individual applicants.
Rinch said the situation has improved since last week, and more Pakistanis traveling with their families are receiving visas. He added that family travelers currently account for about 10% of Pakistani visitors to the UAE.
A UAE Embassy official in Pakistan confirmed that visit visas are being issued to ordinary passport holders applying through registered travel agencies.
The official, who requested anonymity, said visit visas are available for ordinary passport holders applying through registered travel agencies.
He added that although visa processing had experienced delays in some cases because of safety and security concerns, applicants with complete documentation can now apply without difficulty.
The decision follows months of concern over visa processing for Pakistani nationals.
In April last year, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said Pakistan and the UAE had agreed to take the necessary steps to facilitate visa issuance after a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Emirati counterpart.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry later informed Parliament that some applicants had submitted forged academic degrees, diplomas and employment contracts. It also said some individuals had faced legal action in the UAE over unauthorized political activities, criminal offenses or misuse of social media, leading to stricter background checks and documentation requirements.
