The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has temporarily suspended visa on arrival facility for Indian nationals who have visa or residence permit issued by the United States, the United Kingdom or a European Union member state. This was announced by Etihad Airways on Twitter on Monday.
“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,” a tweet from Etihad Help said in response to a user’s query.
The instructions come at a time when the United States has relaxed its travel restrictions for passengers from India. The US State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday put India in the “Level 2” category, which signifies that a country is safe for travel.
From August 8, the United Kingdom government moved India from its “red” to the “amber” list. Under the new travel guidelines, Britain ended the 10-day mandatory quarantine rule, prescribed for everyone travelling from India.
On August 3, the UAE lifted the ban for transit travellers for six countries, including India. Besides India, the ban was lifted for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda. Taking to Twitter, UAE’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) had said, “These categories include those with valid residency permits who have received full vaccination doses in the UAE and 14 days have passed since receiving the second dose and who have vaccination certificates approved by the official authorities in the country.”
