UAE Temporarily Suspends Visa-On-Arrival For Passengers From India

Passengers headed from India to the UAE, and even those who've stayed in India over the last two weeks, will not be able to access the "visa-on-arrival" facility.  

Replying to a query, the Etihad Airways, the UAE's national carrier, said in a tweet: "The UAE authorities have decided to temporarily suspend the visa-on-arrival facility for passengers who are arriving from or been in India in the past 14 days. We're working to update our website, please keep an eye on https://bit.ly/TravelGuideEN for latest regulations."

Similar rules are applicable for passengers arriving from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Namibia, among other countries. 

Passengers travelling to the UAE should carry a COVID-19 negative rapid PCR test report, not older than six hours before boarding the flight. 

"Indian citizens holding regular passports with US visas, green cards, UK Resident Permits, or EU (European Union) resident permits are allowed to receive entry visa upon arrival to UAE valid for 14 days and can be extended only once for a similar period. The Indian Passport, US visa, the green card, the U.K Resident Permit and the EU resident permit must be valid for at least six months," says the website of UAE embassy.

After a tough battle against the second wave that peaked in May, India saw a drop in daily Covid cases from June onwards. As the country steps up measures in anticipation of a third wave, the government is trying to speed up the vaccination pace. 

Last week, the United States eased the travel restrictions for India as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  lowered India to "Level 2: Moderate," while the US State Department eased the rating to "Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution." news agency Reuters reported. 

Earlier this month, the UK also moved India from from "red" to "amber" list. Amid the pandemic, the UK has been segmenting travel lists as "red", "amber" and "green", depending on the coronavirus situation in a country. 

India recorded 25,467 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, taking the overall cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic to 3.24 crore. The United States is the only country that has higher overall Covid cases (3.79 crore).