UAE not issuing visas to Pakistanis, interior ministry official tells Senate body
ISLAMABAD: A senior interior ministry official told a Senate panel on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates had effectively halted visa issuance for Pakistani nationals, a development that officials fear could deepen travel restrictions for citizens already facing tightening conditions in the Gulf region. The revelation came during a meeting of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, where lawmakers sought clarity on the growing number of complaints about rejected or stalled visa applications.
Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry informed the committee that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had “stopped just short of imposing a ban on the Pakistani passport”, noting that while an official announcement had not been made, the scale and consistency of visa refusals indicated a clear policy shift. He warned that if a formal ban were imposed at any point, reversing it would be extremely difficult, as such decisions typically require extensive diplomatic negotiations and long-term assurances from the affected state.
The official stated that as of now, the UAE was issuing visas only to blue passport holders and diplomatic passport holders, while ordinary Pakistani passport holders were not being granted entry. He added that only a very limited number of visas had been approved in recent months and those cases had moved forward after “significant difficulty”, suggesting that the current restrictions were far beyond routine security vetting.
Senator Sameena Mumtaz Zehri, who chairs the committee, confirmed the official’s remarks and said that the committee had been informed clearly that the UAE had virtually stopped issuing visas to Pakistani citizens. She noted that the policy was creating serious concerns among thousands of families dependent on Gulf travel for employment, business or reunification. She added that the committee intended to take up the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the diplomatic steps required to address the issue, particularly given Pakistan’s reliance on remittances from expatriates working in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Officials familiar with the matter told that the UAE’s tightening measures may be linked to broader regional security protocols and concerns over documentation, background checks and the verification of work histories of new applicants. However, there has been no official statement from the UAE Embassy in Islamabad to confirm the reasons behind the shift. Travel agents and visa consultants across major Pakistani cities have also reported a surge in rejections, with many applicants receiving no explanation beyond “processing paused” notifications.
The situation has caused worry among Pakistani workers who were preparing to travel to the UAE for employment, as well as businesses relying on cross-border travel. Many applicants have reported that even after submitting complete documentation, their applications have remained pending for weeks without progress. The government is expected to seek formal clarification from the UAE authorities, while the Senate committee has requested detailed records from immigration and foreign affairs officials to assess the scale of the issue and its potential economic impact.
The development comes at a time when Pakistan is already grappling with declining overseas employment figures and rising concerns over the slowdown in remittances. Any prolonged restrictions by the UAE — one of the top destinations for Pakistani workers — could have significant social and financial consequences, affecting thousands of families nationwide.
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