The United Arab Emirates (UAE) allows fully-vaccinated citizens to travel to restricted countries on the travel curb list today. However, the ban on unvaccinated citizens remains the same, except for those on diplomatic missions.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), during its weekly media briefing on October 26, announced the travel updates. The new move aims to strengthen the UAE’s strategy for a full recovery and slow reopening of all crucial sectors and return to normal life.
As per the new travel guidelines issued by NCEMA, citizens who received full doses of the approved Covid-19 vaccines are allowed to travel. However, the updated rules ban travel for Emiratis over the age of 70 years and unvaccinated citizens. Also, UAE diplomatic missions, patients, humanitarian cases, those who are studying abroad on scholarships are exempted from following the new rules. Still, they require to seek prior approval from the official authorities.
Read More: Covid-19: Updated Travel Guidelines for Passengers Travelling Between India and UAE
UAE citizens coming back from the travel ban list countries are required to show a valid negative RT-PCR for the Covid-19 test report with a QR code for a test conducted within 48 hours from the time of departure. The result of another RT-PCR test, taken not more than six hours before the departure, is also mandatory.
The revised guidelines indicated that vaccinated travellers must take a rapid PCR test on arrival and take two more PCR tests on the 4th and 8th days after arriving in the UAE.
Unvaccinated travellers also have to take a rapid PCR test upon arrival, quarantine for 10 days, and take another test on the 9th day.
Before travelling, citizens travelling to any country on the travel ban list need to register with Tawajudi on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation website by logging onto www.mofaic.gov.ae or the UAEMOFAIC smartphone application.
The service enables the ministry and UAE missions abroad to communicate with Emirati citizens in foreign countries during emergencies and crises. It also provides them with the necessary assistance.
As per the NCEMA website, the UAE government has administered a total of 20,965,508 vaccine doses so far, providing 44,492 doses in the past 24 hours. About 97.16 per cent and 87 per cent among these figures have received the first dose and double dose, respectively. The distribution rate of Covid-19 vaccine doses is 211.98 doses per 100 people.
