When Nadeem, a 28-year-old marketing professional from Lahore, planned his first leisure trip to Dubai this year, he never imagined it would turn into a months-long ordeal. He applied for a visit visa through a travel agency, trusting it would be a “routine process.” Instead, his application was rejected twice: first in January and then again in early November.
The agency handling his case told him the reason was simple: He was “under 40” and younger applicants faced greater scrutiny. For Nadeem, who chose to be identified only by his first name, the explanation only added to the confusion already circulating among frustrated travelers.
“I don’t get it. What does my age have to do with any of this? I work full time and I sent in my bank statement. My friend, a freelancer, got it on the first try. I’ve applied a third time, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but it’s exhausting,” he said Sunrise.
Visa refusals have recently become a recurring problem for Pakistanis traveling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite the Gulf country’s close diplomatic, economic and cultural ties with Pakistan. Abu Dhabi is Islamabad’s main trading partner in the Middle East and a key source of remittances, as it is home to a large population of Pakistani expatriates.
On Thursday, Additional Secretary Home Salman Chaudhry told the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE had not been issuing visas to Pakistanis, although he clarified that there was no formal ban on Pakistani passports. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, who heads the committee, said Sunrise that the restrictions were imposed due to concerns about travelers “getting involved in criminal activities” and said that very few visas had been granted lately, “after much difficulty.”
The problem has persisted for months. In January 2025, the Senate Standing Committee on Pakistan Abroad was informed that some visas for the United Arab Emirates had been “unofficially closed.” Overseas employment promoter Aisam Baig said the UAE had reservations that Pakistanis on visit visas could “resort to begging”.
The following month, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, described the Gulf country’s denial of visas to Pakistani citizens as a “serious and significant” issue. In comments to Arab newsHe said Emirati authorities had raised concerns about the authenticity of documents, including educational credentials, as well as cases involving applicants with criminal records. “If they find a dichotomy somewhere, even if the document is genuine but the certification in Pakistan or in the UAE is not genuine, it could cause major rejections,” Tirmizi said, adding that AI-based verification systems are now being used.
In April, the UAE ambassador to Pakistan, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, announced that visa issues had been resolved and Pakistanis could now apply for a five-year visa.
Despite these assurances, new problems arose in early July. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi raised the issue with his UAE counterpart, and during a July 11 meeting, UAE Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured full support for expediting visas for Pakistani citizens.
However, travelers continued to face obstacles.
Fatima Attarwala, a journalist, recalled her attempts to cover Gulfood, a major event in Dubai: “My visa was rejected twice. First, we went through an agency, then the official agency coordinating the event, but all visa applications for those under 45 years of age were rejected. Even visas for company directors were not approved in the first round. The second round only granted visas to applicants over 45 years of age. It is not a problem unique to Pakistan: people from Africa and other countries too They faced the same problem.”
Syed Abbas Raza Naqvi, 25, who works for an American company, said he received repeated rejections despite corporate sponsorship. “In September last year I started trying to attend a conference in January. My company provided me with the invitation and all supporting documents, but it still didn’t work. I tried three times. In the end, a ‘guaranteed visa’ was issued at a higher fee, but the process is still opaque and stressful.”
Abbas applied for a five-year multiple-entry visit visa in September this year, but was rejected again.
“The visa cost $1,200 (Rs 339,000). They refunded me $650, but it was still a significant loss. Luckily, my company covered the expense, but overall it was a discouraging experience,” he lamented.
A 36-year-old tech entrepreneur from Karachi, who also had his visa rejected, said Sunrise on condition of anonymity that they had attempted in September of this year. “So I applied for a new visa instead of my first application. Surprisingly, I was granted it that same month.”
Muzamil Asif, a sports journalist assigned to cover the Asian Cup in Dubai, was unable to travel after his visa was refused, despite having the necessary accreditation and documentation.
“Our travel agent said ‘100 per cent rejection’ for Dubai visas. All agencies refused to apply. The Pakistan Cricket Board recommended applying through Abu Dhabi, but even then, the process was uncertain. In the end, my visa was rejected because I am a single man under 35 years of age. Ticket and hotel bookings were already made, and my media outlet lost almost Rs 100,000.”
Travel agencies corroborated the trend.
Saher Nazeer, customer service representative, Visa Express Karachi, said Sunrise that “first-time and single-entry visa applications to Dubai face 70 to 80 percent rejections, while family ties improve chances.”
A manager at Trips Travel & Tours, speaking anonymously, added that individual visas had an approval rate of only 20 percent, while family visas have an acceptance of around 80 percent.
Ubaid Sajjad, travel agent at AEG-Visa, cited strict financial requirements for obtaining a visa. “You have a better chance if you provide a six-month bank statement with around Rs 3 million,” he said. “Insufficient funds are the main reason why one-time visas are rejected.”
Meanwhile, Quratulain, an agent for Premio Travel & Tours, said that “previous stays in the country and unclear financial documentation” were the causes of the rejection.
Discussions on Pakistani social media reveal broader frustration. Reddit users described blocked transit visas and conflicting messages from agencies such as VFS Global, with one user noting that professional status or age often determined whether a visa would be approved. Some users said there was indeed a “ban on visit visas for Pakistanis in Dubai” due to concerns about alleged illegal migration.
However, a senior diplomat at the UAE embassy, who did not wish to be named, dismissed the speculation and said Sunrise that “there is no UAE visa ban for Pakistani citizens.”
“The UAE government issues visas daily to various categories of applicants. However, some Pakistani travel agents had manipulated applicants’ data in the past, leading to problems, following which a centralized visa system was introduced,” he said.
He added that the UAE had installed three biometric counters at the embassy to ensure transparency in the application process.
“There are 2.27 million Pakistanis residing in the UAE who can sponsor their families under the new law. However, those with criminal records, those who have manipulated their details, are asked to correct their records,” the diplomat said.
Separately, UAE Ambassador Zaabi on Thursday shared major visa facilitation reforms with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, including online processing, e-visas without passport stamping and faster linkages between systems. According to a post on the Ministry of Finance’s X account, nearly 500 visas are processed daily at the newly opened UAE Visa Center in Pakistan.
Despite diplomatic assurances and recently announced reforms, the experiences of Nadeem and other Pakistani visa applicants show how uncertainty still looms over the process.
“It seems like you are playing the lottery with your plans, your work commitments and your money,” Nadeem said, dejected. Sunrise by phone. “I just want to know whether or not I can leave and get this over with.”
Additional reporting by Abdullah Momand.
Header image: The empty Sheikh Zayed Road is ready for the early morning start of the “Dubai Run 2025” as part of the ninth edition of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, in Dubai on November 23, 2025. — AFP
