Corona crisis: UAE bars entry of residency visa holders, suspends work permit issuance

• The ban comes in effect from today (Thursday) onwards and will be effective till the first week of April.
• UAE has suspended the issuance of all types of labour permits, including for drivers and domestic workers.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has temporarily suspended the entry of all valid visa holders who are out of the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The ban comes in effect from today (Thursday) onwards and will be effective till the first week of April (i.e. a period of two weeks). The development is part of UAE’s measures to halt the spread of coronavirus in the emirates.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has suspended the issuance of all types of labour permits, including for drivers and domestic workers. The decision exempts intra-corporate transfer and EXPO 2020 permits.

Just days ago, fellow middle eastern country Qatar announced similar measures, after it imposed a ban on non-Qataris from entering the country for two weeks as of Wednesday and announced measures to support the economy including providing 75 billion riyals ($20.5 billion) in financial incentives to the private sector.

Meanwhile, as per Gulf News, UAE visa holders that are currently in their countries of origin should contact the UAE diplomatic missions in their respective countries. Visa holders outside the UAE for business should contact their employers as well as Emirati diplomatic missions in their host countries.

It may be mentioned here that hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis work in the UAE.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 8,000 casualties to date, while over 200,000 cases of the virus has been reported so far from across the globe.