Over 50 Indians stranded at Dubai airport due to Visit Visa rules, says report

The UAE immigration rules requires to have a travel-visa holder to have a valid hotel reservation booking or a reference of the relative resident in UAE and a return ticket booking. (Illustrative image)

More than 50 Indian nationals and 300 Pakistanis have been stranded at the Dubai International airport, due to the visit and tourism visa rules being applied, newspapers had reported. These passengers arrived at the airport have not been allowed to exit the airport terminal as they haven't fulfilled with the visit or travel visa rules, the report stated.

The above report has been confirmed with the official sources in the Indian diplomatic consulate in Dubai, travel companies and stranded passengers, newspapers stated.

The Indian Consulate and Embassy has extended the required help to the stranded passengers.

"The consulate was notified of their status through our helpline. Our sources say 14 were allowed entry into Dubai. However, the remaining have been stuck there since last night," the newspapers quoted Neeraj Agarwal, the Consul - Press, Information, and Culture at the Consulate General of India in Dubai, as saying.

"We fully respect the local immigration laws and these rules have been in place for a long time. However, the passengers should've ideally been given notification before boarding the flights. To my knowledge, these rules were not strictly enforced," added by the Consul.

"Immigration authorities asked me if I had Dh2,000 and a hotel reservation with me, to which I replied no. Along with 27 other Malayalee passengers, my cousin and I were transferred to Terminal 3 where we have been stranded since last night," the report shows the comments from one of the passengers stranded as saying.

The stranded passenger list includes more than 300 Pakistanis who were also denied entry into the Dubai over non-compliance with UAE visit visa norms.

The UAE immigration rules requirement states that a travel-visa holder need to have a valid hotel reservation booking or a reference to the relatives residing in UAE and a return air ticket booking.

The news report stated that the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has confirmed that some passengers were denied entry into the country over non-compliance with visa rules and regulations.

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