UAE Travel Ban: Pakistan Passengers Stopped Entering Border

Pakistan passengers are stopped and restricted to travel to Dubai following the new passport rules. Passengers who have a single name on their passports are restricted from entering the country. According to the revised passport rules of the UAE, a passenger should have a primary and secondary name filled. People from many countries have stopped at the airport so far due to rules and procedures. Passengers cannot travel to the UAE unless the new passport rules are met.

The privately owned Pakistani airline Serene Air stated the new procedures of the passport and declined the entry of passengers to the United Arab Emirates. The serene airline provides domestic flights within Pakistan and its first international flight was for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates is the busiest air route with approximately 1.7m Pakistani passengers. 

UAE’s Passport Rules For Passengers

The United Arab Emirates renewed the travel guidelines which mandated passengers follow some rules before entering the country. According to the rule that came into force, passengers with visiting visas or visas on arrival or temporary visa were to clearly declare both their first name and last name on the passport.

If the passenger does not mention their second name in the passport they will be restricted to enter the country, but passengers who travel on residence or employment visas are free from the modified rule. The person who has only first or last name on the passport is not allowed to travel and in case the visa was issued previously the passenger will be impermissible by the immigration department.

According to the announcement of new visa rules, many airlines provide guidelines to the passengers indicating the rules and regulations. The budget airlines told the passengers that a single name on the passport is not allowed and if the primary and secondary name column is updated with approved proof, a visa shall be allowed to that passenger. 

IndiGo airline has also issued a statement which indicated the rule which states that passengers with a visit visa, visa on arrival, or any other type of visa shall not be allowed to travel to and from UAE.

The UAE representative also recommended people wait until the authority makes further steps and they advise people who do not have surnames on their passports to add their father’s or spouses’ names to avoid confusion.  

The common naming convention is to have two parts to a name. Which may be the actual name as the first name of that person and the second name as the parent’s name. It will be different from nation to nation across the world. For example,  Arabic names are composed of at least four components like religious title, location of family origin, and an honored ancestor’s name. But some simply choose to have a single name. This rule modification will bring trouble to those people with a single name. 

According to the reports, many travelers struggled with the rule modification because without the surname they are considered an inadmissible passenger (INAD) and will not be granted entry. Citizens from different countries are barred from flying to the UAE in accordance with the new rule. Passengers from certain countries are not aware of the UAE’s rule modification. They are stopped at the airport by the authorities and sent back. The families who are traveling face more trouble because if one person does not have a surname the whole family may not fly to their destination. Travel agents are also informed about the new rule announcement to make sure that the passengers have cleared the errors on their passports before traveling.