A wave of confusion spread across Pakistani media and social platforms after reports suggested that the UAE had stopped issuing visas for Pakistani nationals. However, according to a senior official at the UAE Embassy in Pakistan, quoted by Dawn, “there’s no ban on visas for Pakistani citizens.”
The clarification from the UAE came after Pakistan’s Additional Interior Secretary, Salman Chaudhry, told the Senate committee that the UAE has not been issuing visas to Pakistanis, except to holders of diplomatic and blue passports. This has created the perception of a ban, even though the UAE maintains that visas for Pakistanis are not officially suspended.
Pakistanis form the UAE’s second-largest expatriate community, with nearly 1.7 million residents in the Emirates. Between 2023–24 alone, over 230,000 Pakistanis moved to the UAE for jobs or business opportunities.
In July 2025, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, announced that the UAE had activated a visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders. “I am pleased to confirm that I have been informed by the UAE authorities that the visa waiver for diplomatic and official Pakistani passports entering the UAE has been activated, effective July 25, 2025, at all UAE airports.”
Amid the confusion, there’s also progress. The UAE’s newly appointed ambassador to Pakistan, Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi, informed Pakistan’s finance minister that new reforms are underway, including online visa processing, e-visas without passport stamping, and system-to-system linkages for faster approvals. A newly launched UAE visa centre in Pakistan is now processing almost 500 visas per day, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance.
Pakistan’s Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights heard testimony from officials claiming the UAE had concerns about some Pakistani nationals on visit visas being involved in begging and other illegal activities.
Overseas Employment Promoter Aisam Baig said the UAE government was worried that Pakistanis on “visit visas, not work visas,” resort to begging in the country.
This concern echoes earlier actions: In December 2024, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states imposed an indefinite ban on visas for residents of over 30 Pakistani cities due to rising cases of begging, smuggling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
The UAE has reportedly not banned visas for Pakistanis, but stricter rules and limited categories are in place due to concerns over misuse of visit visas and rising crime cases. Diplomatic-level cooperation remains strong, and both countries are working on reforms, but travellers should expect enhanced verification and longer processing times.
