A viral claim on social media suggests that Dubai has banned visas for single Pakistani men under the age of 42; however, this claim is false.
The rumours, which caused widespread concern among potential travelers and the Pakistani community, were dismissed after a thorough investigation, VisaGuide.World reports.
On May 21, a Twitter user wrote that Dubai is banning visas for single Pakistani men under the age of 42 and that there has been no official announcement.
Dubai stopped issuing visas to single Pakistani men under 42 – no formal announcement, but have verified this from several reliable sources in the local travel industry.
Viral Tweet Proved to Be Fake Thorough Investigations
This tweet went viral so fast, thus leading to speculation about the alleged visa restrictions. However, authoritative sources confirmed that there is no truth in these claims. Dubai has neither made an official announcement nor enforced any ban on issuing visit or work visas to Pakistani nationals, including single men under the age of 42.
UAE Faced Similar Fake Rumours Regarding Issuing Visas to Residents of Pakistani
This is not the first time such fake news has appeared on the Internet. Last year, similar rumours claimed that the UAE had banned the issuance of visit visas to residents of some Pakistani cities. Some local tourist agents have even confirmed these reports without proper verification or any official statement from the authorities.
In response to these earlier rumours, Pakistan’s Foreign Office denied any specific ban by the UAE on issuing visas to Pakistanis from certain cities. The UAE Consulate General in Karachi called the rumours “fake news”, stressing that no such restrictions had been enforced.
In March of this year, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented some changes to its visa waiver policy. As a result, citizens from 87 countries now have the privilege of entering the UAE without the requirement to obtain a pre-entry visa.
However, citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were exempted from these requirements and can enjoy visa-free travel to the UAE. These individuals can quickly enter the country by presenting either a passport from a GCC state or an ID card at UAE entry points.