The Foreign Office has refuted claims that residents of particular Pakistani cities are not eligible for visas from the United Arab Emirates.
Over the weekend, a number of erroneous media reports about a ban on UAE visas for citizens of 24 cities travelling to Pakistan were widely disseminated on social media.
Despite inaccurate reports to the contrary, the UAE’s immigration authorities eventually added 24 Pakistani cities to their "visa prohibition list” after initially adding only 12 to the list.
The reports linked the alleged ban to travel agents sending travellers to the UAE on visit visas after misinforming them that they had work visas.
When Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked about the reports on Monday during a media briefing, she refuted them outright.
“We have seen the reports. We can confirm that no such ban is in place by the UAE for the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens,” she said.
Separately, the Consulate General of the UAE in Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi also dismissed the reports.He said all Pakistani citizens were eligible to apply for a visit visa or any other type offered by the UAE.
