As travel restrictions continue to shift and evolve, India’s policy for its citizens traveling to the UAE is the most recent change. Indians in possession of any valid UAE visa are now allowed to enter the country. One source of this news came from the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, who posted the story to Twitter on August 10th.
Indians able to enter UAE with a valid visa
The news came via Ambassador Pavan Kapoor, who wrote on Twitter: “Very pleased to see the @MoCA_GoI notification this evening as per which both Indian & UAE airlines can now carry any Indian national holding any type of valid UAE visa from India to UAE!”
This news will be much welcomed by many in India, as the country has close economic ties to the United Arab Emirates as well as other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations. These include the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Very pleased to see the @MoCA_GoI notification this evening as per which both Indian & UAE airlines can now carry any Indian national holding any type of valid UAE visa from India to UAE! @IndembAbuDhabi @cgidubai @MoFAICUAE
— Amb Pavan Kapoor (@AmbKapoor) August 10, 2020
According to Gulf News, India had earlier banned its citizens from traveling to the UAE – even those holding tourist or visitor visas.
Close economic and social connections
India and the UAE are connected by strong trade relations as many Indians reside in the United Arab Emirates as migrant workers (expats).
In fact, according to the Indian embassy in the UAE, the Indian expatriate community is the largest ethnic community in the country, with 3.42 million residents. This makes it the largest ethnic community in UAE, constituting roughly about 30% of the country’s population.
This shift in travel policy means that the large Indian population will be able to reunite with family members who may have been kept apart for months during this crisis. According to the Khaleej Times, there are scores of long-term Indian residents in the UAE whose children were stranded in India without UAE residency visas. Now that any type of visa is permitted, children can once again see their parents.
Numerous air connections
Of course, this will likely result in aircraft flying between the two countries carrying more passengers. The air connections between the UAE and India are vast – with both mainline and budget carriers flying numerous daily services.
SpiceJet alone will have numerous flights to Sharjah and Dubai effective next week from a number of major Indian cities. IndiGo flies to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah while GoAir has services to Dubai.
From its hubs at Ras al Khaimah and Sharjah, Air Arabia flies to a long list of Indian destinations, as does Emirates, flydubai, and Etihad out of their own UAE hub airports.
Have you been affected by travel policies between the UAE and India? If so, we would love to hear from you! Share your experiences by leaving a comment.
