The UAE has not banned visas for Pakistani nationals, it was reported by a Pakistani daily on Thursday. Quoting a senior official in the UAE Embassy in Pakistan, who wished not to be named, the diplomat told the Pakistani newspaper Dawn that “there’s no ban on visas for Pakistani citizens.”
This came as Salman Chaudhry, additional interior secretary, told a Pakistan Senate committee, that the UAE has not been issuing visas to Pakistanis, but only to diplomatic and blue passport holders, the daily said.
Pakistani diaspora is the second largest expatriate community in the UAE with nearly 1.7 million people living across the Emirates, mostly in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
The UAE and Pakistan have close diplomatic, cultural and trade ties since the former was founded.
According to the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, more than 230,000 Pakistanis migrated to the UAE during the 2023-24 financial year for jobs and to establish businesses here.
In July 2025, the UAE and Pakistan 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,” said Ishaq Dar, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan, in July.
500 Pakistani visas daily
Meanwhile, Salem Mohammed Al Zaabi, the UAE’s newly-appointed Ambassador to Pakistan, met Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s federal minister for finance and revenue, where they discussed visas and investment opportunities, the Ministry of Finance said on its social media.
The UAE ambassador shared major UAE visa facilitation reforms for Pakistanis, including online visa processing, e-visa without passport stamping and faster system-to-system linkages, it said.
It was also revealed that a newly-launched UAE visa centre in Pakistan is processing nearly 500 visas daily.
Pakistani minister acknowledged the UAE’s consistent support in trade, investment, remittances, G2G financing, and Pakistan’s international financial engagements.
The two officials also agreed to continue working closely to unlock new opportunities in trade, investment, finance, technology, defence, and people-to-people ties.
Passport cancellation of deportees
Meanwhile, a meeting of Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior, chaired by federal interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, announced in May 2025 that passports of Pakistanis deported from the UAE, GCC, Europe and other countries will be cancelled upon arrival in the country.
It was decided in the meeting that a First Information Report (FIR) will also be lodged against people deported from other countries.
Moreover, their names will also be placed on the passport control list for five years, putting restrictions on them to travel abroad.
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