The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is tightened its immigration policies, which is resulting in the deportation of several Pakistanis involved in faking their visit visas to work in the Gulf country.
Islamabad has been asked to take practical measures in educating Pakistanis who seek employment in the UAE to follow the procedure, accordingly.
Around 80 Pakistanis have been deported or are facing deportation for possessing fake visit visas or failing to adhere to the regulations for entering the UAE on their visit visas in the previous 10 days.
The matter was highlighted after Pakistan’s Consulate in Dubai wrote to the Foreign Office and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which supervises immigration-related activities, in Islamabad. Pakistan’s Consulate in Dubai highlighted that it had discovered that the immigration authorities had barred about 80 Pakistanis from entering the UAE.
The main reasons the Pakistanis in question were denied entry reportedly include holding visit visas with dummy return tickets, having insufficient funds to sustain them during the visit, and stating that they were ‘visiting for work’ while holding visit visas.
According to the consulate, around 40 Pakistanis had been deported with another 40 in the process of deportation, as stated in the Head of Chancery’s letter dated 13 August. It also detailed that the UAE’s immigration authorities rejected the requests of Pakistani officials, quoting the mentioned reasons for their expulsion.
Subsequently, the Dubai Consulate has asked the Government of Pakistan to carry out an awareness drive for the passengers looking for employment in the UAE to obtain proper visas and valid tickets, and have at least AED 5,000 in cash.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Overseas Employment Promoters Association (POEPA), Syed Rehmat Shah, verified and highlighted the matter in a letter to the federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Sajid Hussain Turi, on Monday. Shah detailed that the misuse of visit visas has forced the UAE authorities to tighten the country’s immigration policies. He added that the UAE is already not issuing visas to Pakistanis from 20 cities.
The POEPA also stated that the UAE authorities now require bank statements from Pakistani travelers and a security deposit of AED 5,000 in order to obtain a visa after the imposition of new rules.
It has also urged the federal government to launch an awareness campaign about documentation, visa categories, tickets, and sufficient funds for travel to the UAE.
Shah requested Minister Turi to take strict action against fraudulent immigration agents in Pakistan and those who send Pakistanis with incomplete documents to the UAE.
Such incidents indicate a worrisome trend for Pakistan and its citizens wishing to travel or work in the UAE. Note here that Pakistanis sent $456.17 million in remittances last month and $614.11 million in April, which is a 50 year-record.