Visit visa holders from India will soon be able to travel the UAE based on an ‘Air Bubble’ agreement being finalized between the two countries.
This development follows India’s Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) decision to ease visa and travel-related restrictions to a list of countries, to which the UAE will soon be added.
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India’s MHA to Ease Travel Restrictions for Certain Countries, UAE to be Included
In a tweet posted by the Indian ambassador to the UAE, Pavan Kapoor, he said: “I understand that a decision to this effect has now been taken by MHA in India. This will come into effect only after the formal notification from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the next couple of days.“
I understand that a decision to this effect has now indeed been taken by MHA in India. This will come into effect only after the formal notification from @MoCA_GoI in the next couple of days. Please book your tickets to UAE only after that. @cgidubai https://t.co/nGjmXxFRI0
— Amb Pavan Kapoor (@AmbKapoor) August 8, 2020
Ambassador Kapoor clarified, however, that people should wait till the formal announcement before booking the tickets for traveling to the UAE.
In line with this, the Indian envoy to the UAE also emphasized that visit visa holders, especially job seekers, will not be allowed to travel to the UAE in the current situation.
But since the UAE has recently started issuing visas, the envoy clarified that the embassy has recommended to Indian authorities to consider allowing Indians with valid visas to travel to the UAE.
Those who have recently obtained their visit visas to Dubai through travel agents have been held up at the airports as airlines are currently taking only those passengers with valid UAE residence visas.
For his part, Aviation minister H S Puri had recently said air bubbles are being worked out with some neighboring countries also to enable continuity of travel — by certain categories of people allowed under current government rules — until regular schedule flights resume. And as part of travel regulations in the UAE, passengers arriving in Dubai from any destination, including passengers connecting in Dubai, must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate.
On the other hand, the MHA has allowed overseas citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders to enter India from countries with which the bilateral travel arrangement has been finalized.
“Foreigners from these countries have also been allowed to avail Indian visa facility for business, medical and employment purposes. Indian citizens have also been allowed to travel to such countries on any type of visa,” the MHA tweeted.
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