“We have seen the reports. We can confirm that no such ban is in place by UAE for the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.
The FO response came in view of queries by journalists on reports of blacklisting or imposition of ban by the UAE government on issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens belonging to certain cities.
The UAE also strongly denied reports of not issuing visas to Pakistani citizens belonging to certain cities, terming the report as “fake news”.
Consul General of the UAE in Karachi, Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi, said that no such ban had been imposed by the UAE government.
Last month, the UAE government revised the naming guidelines for allowing entry into the Emirates.
Pakistan passengers with a single name on their passports would not be allowed to enter the UAE, according to the revised naming guidelines.
“The UAE government has revised the naming guidelines for allowing entry in the Emirates. As per the guideline update, passengers holding passports with [only] a single name and no other name – including, father name/family name – will not be accepted,” the guidelines said.
Pakistan-UAE is one of the busiest air routes in the region. South Asian nationals account for the second largest expatriate community in the UAE, at nearly 1.6 million.