Additional Secretary of the Interior Salman Chaudhry informed the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stopped issuing visas to Pakistani citizens, marking a significant setback for expatriates, job seekers, and businesses that rely heavily on travel between the two countries.
Briefing the committee, he stated that Pakistan and the UAE enjoy deep-rooted diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties, and the UAE remains one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in the Middle East. Millions of Pakistanis reside and work in the Emirates, contributing substantially to the national economy through remittances. Despite this longstanding relationship, the UAE has effectively halted the issuance of general visas to Pakistani passport holders.
The interior ministry official also revealed that, until recently, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had even considered imposing a complete ban on Pakistani passports. Although the decision was halted at the last moment, he warned that if such a ban were ever implemented, reversing it would be extremely difficult and could have serious political and economic consequences for Pakistan.
According to Salman Chaudhry, at present, the UAE is only issuing visas to individuals holding official blue passports or diplomatic passports, while ordinary Pakistani passport holders are facing near-total restrictions. He noted that in recent months, only a limited number of visas were issued—and that too after strict scrutiny and prolonged verification processes.
Committee chairperson Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri confirmed the ministry’s briefing during a conversation with Dawn, stating that UAE authorities have reportedly cited incidents involving some Pakistani individuals engaging in criminal activities after reaching the Emirates. This, she said, has prompted the UAE government to tighten its visa policy for Pakistani nationals.
She added that the committee was informed that the issuance of UAE visas has become extremely rare and difficult in recent months, affecting thousands of families and job seekers who depend on employment opportunities in the Gulf region.
