Covid: UAE Lifts Entry Embargo on Residents Trapped in Nigeria, Five Other Countries

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced the lifting of a suspension on residents of the country returning from Nigeria and five other countries, effective Thursday, August 5.

Other countries to benefit from the embargo being lifted include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Uganda.

The travellers must however be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and hold valid UAE residency permits, with at least 14 days passing after the second vaccine dose was received. They must also hold a certificate to this effect.

This is among a string of exemptions announced by the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).

Passenger entry from the above named countries is on hold unless exempted on these conditions: health workers employed in the UAE, which include doctors, nurses and technicians; those working in the UAE’s education sector: universities, colleges, schools and institutes; students in the country; humanitarian cases who hold valid residency and those employed in federal and local government agencies.

Those previously given exemptions were citizens of the UAE and their first-degree relatives;
diplomatic personnel between the UAE and the applicable countries, including administrative workers; official delegations, subject to obtaining prior approval; Expo 2020 international participants and exhibitors; and personnel sponsored by its organiser.

Others were UAE residents with gold or silver residency permit; crews of cargo and transit flights of foreign companies; businessmen and businesswomen, provided they hold an approval from the General Authority for the Security of Ports, Borders and Free Zones, and heads of higher committees of the emergency, crisis and disaster management teams of the Emirate concerned; employees belonging to vital functions according to the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja with agency report