On 23 October 2025, the UAE government introduced an immediate but temporary pause on new tourist and employment-visa applications from nationals of Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Sudan and Uganda. Existing residents from these countries are unaffected, but new applicants must wait until enhanced security checks and verification protocols are fully deployed.
Authorities framed the measure as part of a routine risk-assessment cycle designed to ‘preserve safety, security and administrative efficiency’. Background-screening vendors and consular channels are expected to receive updated guidance in the coming weeks as officials refine document-authentication and data-sharing processes.
Companies employing high volumes of staff from the affected nations—construction, hospitality, retail and domestic-work sectors in particular—should anticipate recruitment delays and may need to revise project timelines or shift sourcing towards other labour markets. Mobility managers must also monitor knock-on effects: family-reunion cases, internship placements and short-term business-visitor trips will all be deferred until the suspension is lifted.
Legal practitioners stress that the action is procedural rather than political. Similar pauses in 2021 and 2023 lasted four to eight weeks and concluded once upgraded vetting systems went live. Employers are advised to keep existing visa holders in-country during the freeze and to prepare alternate onboarding strategies, including remote work arrangements, where feasible.
The announcement underscores the UAE’s determination to balance its open-door economic model with stringent security controls—an equilibrium that global companies must factor into workforce-planning scenarios.
Authorities framed the measure as part of a routine risk-assessment cycle designed to ‘preserve safety, security and administrative efficiency’. Background-screening vendors and consular channels are expected to receive updated guidance in the coming weeks as officials refine document-authentication and data-sharing processes.
Companies employing high volumes of staff from the affected nations—construction, hospitality, retail and domestic-work sectors in particular—should anticipate recruitment delays and may need to revise project timelines or shift sourcing towards other labour markets. Mobility managers must also monitor knock-on effects: family-reunion cases, internship placements and short-term business-visitor trips will all be deferred until the suspension is lifted.
Legal practitioners stress that the action is procedural rather than political. Similar pauses in 2021 and 2023 lasted four to eight weeks and concluded once upgraded vetting systems went live. Employers are advised to keep existing visa holders in-country during the freeze and to prepare alternate onboarding strategies, including remote work arrangements, where feasible.
The announcement underscores the UAE’s determination to balance its open-door economic model with stringent security controls—an equilibrium that global companies must factor into workforce-planning scenarios.
