UAE Halts Issuance of Standard Visas for Pakistani Nationals Amid Crime Concerns
Pakistan's travellers have complained for several months, and authorities have now confirmed that the United Arab Emirates will no longer issue standard visas for Pakistani nationals as a result of growing concerns about visa applicants engaging in criminal activities.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) November 28: It has been reported that the UAE has stopped issuing almost all new visa requests to Pakistani citizens who hold normal passports. These measures follow numerous reports of Pakistani citizens travelling to the Gulf country and participating in illegal activities.
Nevertheless, the UAE Consulate has dismissed these claims, emphasising that there has been an influx of applications during the past few weeks, leading to an unusually high rejection rate.
Pakistani Officials Confirm UAE's Strict Visa Restrictions Amid Growing Crime Cases
At a meeting held by the Functional Committee on Human Rights of the Pakistan Senate, officials from the Ministry of Interior confirmed that, following months of concerns regarding significant growth in the number of Pakistani citizens engaged in criminal activity in the UAE, the UAE had undertaken very strict restrictions — almost a complete ban — on the type of visas available to Pakistani citizens.
The Functional Committee on Human Rights was advised by Mr Salman Chaudhry, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Interior, that the UAE quietly ceased to issue visas to Pakistani nationals, while Mr Chaudhry represented both governments said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia have not placed an outright ban on the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens; however, he stated that if a ban were to occur, it would be extremely difficult for the Pakistani government to remove it or lift it later on.
Committee chair Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri supported this assertion, stating that visa restrictions arise from numerous instances of Pakistani nationals participating in unlawful pursuits within the UAE. The Dawn newspaper quoted Zehri, who asserted that “Pakistanis are committing crimes,” and noted that only a limited number of visas have been issued in the last year and that the process of obtaining these visas has proved extremely challenging.
Visa Freeze Complicates Employment and Diplomatic Relations Between Pakistan and Gulf States
These restrictions further perpetuate the belief that the average Pakistani traveller receives additional scrutiny, thus complicating future negotiations regarding visa liberalisation with other nations. Many individuals from Pakistan committed violent and atrocious acts such as murder and kidnapping while residing within the UAE in recent years.
The most common reason for visa cancellations relating to Pakistani nationals in the UAE relates to the prevalence of begging syndicates, street crime and visa overstay.
Saudi Arabia has arrested upwards of 4000 Pakistani nationals participating in begging, principally in the cities of Mecca and Medina, during the sacred pilgrimage times of Umrah and Hajj.
The UAE provides jobs and business opportunities to many thousands of Pakistani labourers, workers, traders and families. The existence of an unregulated or de facto ‘freeze’ caused by criminal-related concerns increases the hurdles associated with both Pakistan's overseas employment aspirations and diplomatic outreach to Gulf states. For households which rely upon or receive a large portion of their earnings from Gulf nations, the uncertainty adds yet another significant layer of concern.
