(MENAFN- Live Mint) The United Arab Emirates has now halted issuing regular visas to Pakistani nationals, with a senior Pakistani official stating that the move is linked to concerns over Pakistanis travelling to the Gulf nation and "getting involved in criminal activities", as per reports.

Addressing the committee, Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry told Pakistan's Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Thursday that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had "stopped short of imposing a complete ban" on the Pakistani passport – adding that“if a ban is imposed, getting it removed would be difficult," reported Dawn.

Why UAE has stopped issuing visas?

Committee chairperson Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri confimed the development about UAE stopping visa issuance for Pakistanis – stating that the restriction stemmed from repeated incidents where Pakistani visitors were found 'engaged in unlawful activities' inside the UAE, Dawn quoted.

She said the UAE imposed the bar amid growing concerns that Pakistanis arriving there were "getting involved in criminal activities, " Dawn reported. She further added that only a handful of visas had been granted recently, "and those too after much difficulty".

Are there any exceptions?

The UAE unofficially halted visa issuance for Pakistani passport holders, except for blue and diplomatic passports.

Which other nations have stopped visas for Pakistan?

As of 27 April 2025, India has officially revoked all existing valid visas issued to Pakistani nationals and suspended further visa services. All previously issued visas were cancelled, and no new tourist, business, or medical visas are being processed.

As per official data, over 8,00,000 Pakistanis apply for visas to Gulf and Middle Eastern countries each year, seeking employment and better economic opportunities.

Pakistani visas rejected in July

Pakistani citizens reportedly began facing widespread visa rejections as early as July, prompting Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to take up the issue with his UAE counterpart. At a meeting on 11 July UAE's Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured Naqvi of“full support”, but the restrictions remained in place, Dawn reported.

Earlier in April, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi had claimed that visa issues were "resolved" and that Pakistanis could access a five-year visa, a statement now contradicted by Islamabad's own officials.

Concerns over the misuse of visit visas by Pakistani nationals have surfaced multiple times. In January, Pakistan's Senate Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was told that certain UAE visas had been“unofficially closed," as per Dawn's report.

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