ABU DHABI: Dubai has announced the relaxation of travel restrictions from countries including India, Nigeria and South Africa but Pakistan has been excluded from the new travel protocols.
The UAE, in late April, had closed its borders for travellers from India. This had come in the backdrop of the surge in number of Covid-19 cases in India during the second wave of the pandemic.
Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said on Saturday it would now allow ravellers from India, who have valid residence visas and have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine starting from June 23.
The emirate would also allow travellers from South Africa, who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, to enter Dubai.
Travellers from Nigeria must only present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure and will also undergo another PCR test on arrival in Dubai, WAM added.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights from June 21,
A statement by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said the restrictions would also include transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights travelling to the UAE and bound for those countries.
Cargo flights between those countries and the UAE will continue, as usual, the statement added. It said the restrictions were being introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The GCAA added that exemptions to its decision include: UAE nationals, their first-degree relatives, diplomatic missions, official delegations, business jets – after getting prior approvals – and golden and silver residency permit holders, in addition to those who work essential jobs. Those who are exempted will still have to take a PCR test at the airport and enter a mandatory 10-day quarantine.
