UAE refutes reports of visa ban on residents of several Pakistani cities
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials on Monday refuted the reports of not providing visas to Pakistani citizens belonging to certain cities, terming it as “fake news”.
Speaking to private news channel, Consulate General of the UAE Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi said that no visa restrictions have been imposed by the UAE government saying, “Citizens of Pakistan can apply for UAE visit or any other visa.”
Earlier it was reported by several publications that, some travel agents, whose clients have been victim of this restriction, said that Pakistani citizens having the following cities as their ‘place of birth’ might not get the UAE visit visa:
Abbottabad, Attock, Bajaur Agency, Chakwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Hunza, Quetta, Kasur, Kohat, Kotli AJK, Khushab, Kurram Agency, Larkana, Mohmand Agency, Muzaffargarh, Nawabshah, Parachinar, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Skardu and Sukkur.
Following the reports, Consulate General Karachi said the resident of the mentioned cities could get their visas from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad consulates as no ban was imposed on any Pakistani city.
It should be noted that, UAE hosts about 1.7 million Pakistanis, the second largest Pakistani expat community in the world.
The data by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirms that the volume of remittances from the UAE to Pakistan in fiscal year 2021-22 was $2555.22 million, implying that a sizeable Pakistani workforce is employed in the country in diverse fields from banks to real estate.
