Updated August 29th, 2021 at 20:56 IST

UAE to issue visas to the fully vaccinated travelers from August 30 as COVID cases see dip

Visitors who want to take advantage of the privileges available to those who have been vaccinated in the UAE can do so the same by the ICA platform

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Credit: Unsplash | Image:self
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) informed that the country will begin granting visas to all travellers who have been properly vaccinated against COVID from August 30 onwards. The announcement comes a month before Dubai hosts the postponed Expo 2020 trade show. Tourists will now have to be inoculated with one dose of the vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization, according to UAE's travel rules. Passengers must also use the government's health app to submit their immunisation status. 

More about visas for vaccinated tourists in UAE   

As per UAE's travel rules, the individuals should be fully vaccinated from the World Health Organization-approved COVID vaccines such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.  

According to the official WAM news agency, UAE's decision to re-open its gates for travellers from all countries is because the country wants to achieve sustained restoration and growth in the economy. WAM further said that the decision was applicable to every individual from all nations, including those who arrive from formerly prohibited countries due to the surge in COVID cases.   

Visitors who want to take advantage of the privileges available to those who have been vaccinated in the UAE, such as accessing malls and public places in Abu Dhabi, can do so the same by registering their vaccination through the ICA platform or the Al Hosn application. According to the new UAE travel instructions, all regulations for travellers who have been unvaccinated, which even includes exempted groups, remain in effect. 

Previously, the visitors with passports from various SAARC nations, including India, were permitted to enter the Arab country on a tourist visa earlier this month.  Passport holders from the countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, and Nigeria were given the waiver, according to Gulf News, which cited the flydubai website. 

It's worth noting that all visitors are obliged to take RT-PCR testing on landing and again on the ninth day after reaching the UAE. 

Now, the country's daily number of positive instances continues to decline, having dropped below 1,000 over the last week. After Malta, the immunisation percentage was approaching 92%, the second-highest in the world. 

Etihad Help tweeted that The UAE officials have opted to temporarily halt the Visa-on-Arrival program for travellers who are arriving from or departing from India during the last 14 days. Further, it was written that Etihad is working on updating its website. They even urged to keep attention on https://bit.ly/TravelGuideEN for the most up-to-date rules. 

(Image Credit: Unsplash) 

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Published August 29th, 2021 at 20:56 IST