Tensions flared in Islamabad on 28 November when Pakistan’s Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights heard official testimony that the United Arab Emirates is no longer issuing ordinary visit or work visas to Pakistani nationals. Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry said only holders of diplomatic or ‘blue’ passports have been able to secure entry permits in recent weeks, warning that a full passport ban had been ‘narrowly averted.’
The statement formalises months of anecdotal reports from travel agents who have faced wave after wave of unexplained rejections. Pakistani media cite UAE concerns over spikes in crime, documentation fraud and overstays among certain traveller segments. Analysts also point to lingering reputational damage from high-profile drug-smuggling cases routed through Gulf hubs.
![Pakistani Senate told UAE has halted regular visas for its citizens]()
For the UAE, the pause—if confirmed—would mark a sharp policy turn. Pakistanis make up roughly 12 per cent of the Emirates’ population and form a crucial labour pool across construction, retail and transport. Employers who rely on fresh recruitment drives now face immediate talent-supply headaches, while Pakistani residents inside the UAE fear that dependent relatives will be unable to join them for the winter holidays.
Recruitment consultancies advise corporates to accelerate the use of intracompany transfers from other labour-source markets such as India or the Philippines and to prepare alternative mobilisation pipelines via Saudi or Qatari consulates. Immigration lawyers meanwhile caution that official UAE channels have not yet published any written directive, so case-by-case approvals may still be possible under humanitarian or critical-skills exemptions.
Diplomatically, Pakistan is expected to lobby hard. A joint economic committee meets next month in Abu Dhabi; observers predict visas will top the agenda, alongside remittance corridors and a stalled $5 billion refinery project in Gwadar.
The statement formalises months of anecdotal reports from travel agents who have faced wave after wave of unexplained rejections. Pakistani media cite UAE concerns over spikes in crime, documentation fraud and overstays among certain traveller segments. Analysts also point to lingering reputational damage from high-profile drug-smuggling cases routed through Gulf hubs.
For the UAE, the pause—if confirmed—would mark a sharp policy turn. Pakistanis make up roughly 12 per cent of the Emirates’ population and form a crucial labour pool across construction, retail and transport. Employers who rely on fresh recruitment drives now face immediate talent-supply headaches, while Pakistani residents inside the UAE fear that dependent relatives will be unable to join them for the winter holidays.
Recruitment consultancies advise corporates to accelerate the use of intracompany transfers from other labour-source markets such as India or the Philippines and to prepare alternative mobilisation pipelines via Saudi or Qatari consulates. Immigration lawyers meanwhile caution that official UAE channels have not yet published any written directive, so case-by-case approvals may still be possible under humanitarian or critical-skills exemptions.
Diplomatically, Pakistan is expected to lobby hard. A joint economic committee meets next month in Abu Dhabi; observers predict visas will top the agenda, alongside remittance corridors and a stalled $5 billion refinery project in Gwadar.
