Family with Abu Dhabi visa lands at Dubai airport after vacation in US

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

An expatriate family residing in the UAE for many years now and issued with Abu Dhabi visas, safely landed at and were able to complete immigration requirements at the Dubai Airport Terminal 3 on Sunday night.

"We are back and are now at home. Praise God. We were required a negative PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test in the US before we checked in and on arrival in Dubai." the Sharjah resident told Gulf Today.

"Everything went well. So smooth. We landed safely at 9 p.m. No questions from the Dubai Immigration. The face scan only took five minutes," he continued.

The hassle-free re-entry into the UAE and via Dubai of the Abu Dhabi-visa-ed family who had gone on a two-week holiday in Florida, was welcomed with joy.

It was earlier reported that Sharjah and Abu Dhabi visa holders are not allowed to land at Dubai Airports.

This only cover residents of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The statement, uploaded at the website of the Air India airline states: "Only passengers having Dubai Resident Visa and have GDRFA (General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs) approval are permitted to arrive into Dubai Airports. Passengers having other Emirates Resident Visa are not permitted to arrive into Dubai Airports."

All passengers with a valid UAE residence visa who have been fully vaccinated in the UAE and who hold an official vaccination certificate issued and approved by relevant authorities in the UAE are permitted to return to the UAE. At least 14 days must have passed since the last required dose of the vaccine was administered.

COVID requirements for travel from USA:

According to Emirates, “Customers must be at the airport 4 hours before the flight to complete all airport formalities and associated travel requirement checks. Please make sure you have all the correct documents required for your trip ready to present to the airport staff.”

COVID requirements for travel to Dubai:

According to Emirates, “All passengers travelling to Dubai from any point of origin (GCC countries included) must hold a negative COVID‑19 PCR test certificate for a test taken no more than 72 hours before departure, except for travel from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Exemptions for non‑vaccinated passengers:

    Holders of golden and silver visas and diplomats.
    
Healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and technicians.

    Education sector workers including professors, teachers and students studying in the UAE.

    Government employees.

    Exhibitors and participants who are under the sponsorship of EXPO 2020.