UAE halts visas for Pakistani citizens over rising crime concerns, Islamabad confirms

Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry informed the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE had tightened its visa policy for Pakistanis, noting that once such a ban is imposed, “it is very difficult to have it reversed,” according to a report by Dawn.

For now, visas are only being issued to holders of blue and diplomatic passports.

The UAE’s decision, as per reports, stems largely from cases involving Pakistanis who travelled on visit visas but were later found begging or engaging in other illicit activities instead of seeking legitimate employment.

Overseas Employment Promoter Aisam Baig told the committee that these incidents had raised “serious concern” within the UAE government.

Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, who chairs the committee, said that only a handful of Pakistani applicants had managed to secure visas recently, and that too “after much difficulty.”

The move follows earlier actions taken by Gulf countries.

In December 2024, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and several other regional nations imposed an indefinite visa ban on people from at least 30 cities in Pakistan after a spike in incidents involving begging, drug trafficking, smuggling, and human trafficking by Pakistani nationals abroad.

The UAE remains one of Pakistan’s most significant economic partners in the Middle East and is home to a large Pakistani expatriate workforce.

Each year, more than 800,000 Pakistanis apply for visas to Gulf countries, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which are among the most sought-after destinations for work and travel.

Before the current freeze, the UAE had already mandated police-issued character certificates for all visa applicants in an effort to curb misuse of its entry rules.