ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has recently fortified its visa policy for Pakistanis holding official and diplomatic passpor
ts.
According to the new set of rules official passport holders are required to wait longer than usual to get visas, contrary to the previous norms whi
ch offered priority to such passport holders. This rece
nt revelation came as a written reply from th
e Ministry for Foreign Affairs UAE.
According to
it, UAE authorities have adopted a stringent policy for granting visas to the holders of official passports from Pakistan.
“Pakistani passport holders, both diplomatic and official, have been facing a stringent clearance regime for the past three years before visas are issued,” stated the written reply.
Media reports regarding issuance of multiple and unauthorised passports to applicants on the basis of forged documents noticed by local authorities seem to have influenced the UAE visa policy towards Pakistani official passport holders, the reply added.
