ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Shafqat Ali Khan on Friday denied reports that the Gulf country has suspended the issuance of 96- and 48-hour transit visas for Pakistanis.

“It’s not true,” he said in response to Dawn’s query about reports circulating on social media.

The 96- and 48-hour transit visas are sponsored by the UAE-based airlines — Emirates and Etihad Airways — and must be processed and approved before entering the UAE, according to the information available on the government’s website.

“If you are not eligible for a visa on arrival or a visa-free entry to the UAE, and intend to step out of the airport, then you need a pre-arranged transit visa,” the website says.

Several users shared screenshots on social media that stated: “As per the latest information from USE immigration transit visas (96 Hours and 48 Hours Visa) for PAKISTAN nationals has been temporarily suspended. Hence, kindly do not apply for this 96 Hours and 48 Hours visa category.”

Others, meanwhile, just mentioned the reported suspension of the transit visas on X, citing a “notice”.

Past visa issues

Pakistanis have faced difficulties obtaining UAE visas over the past year. In January 2025, Overseas Employment Promoter Aisam Baig told the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis that some visas to the UAE had been “unofficially closed”.

He said that the UAE had concerns about Pakistanis travelling on visit visas and resorting to begging. However, the committee’s chairman, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, said there were “no restrictions on work visas” for Pakistanis travelling to the UAE.

In April, UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi said visa issues had been resolved and Pakistanis could avail a five-year visa.

However, in early July, reports of visa rejections prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to take up the matter with his UAE counterpart. In a meeting that month, UAE Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured Naqvi of “full support” in expediting visas for Pakistani citizens, according to an official account of the talks.

On November 27, 2025, Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chau­dhry told a Senate functional committee that the UAE was not issuing visas to Pakistanis. He had also said Saudi Arabia and the UAE had “stopped short of imposing a ban on the Pakistani passport”.

But that same day, UAE Amba­ssador to Pakistan Salem M. Salem Al-Bawab Al-Zaabi shared what was described as “major UAE visa facilitation refo­rms for Pakistanis” with Finance Minister Muha­mmad Aurangzeb, according to a statement issued by the finance ministry.

The reforms discussed during their meeting in Islamabad included online visa processing, e-visas without passport stamping and faster system-to-system linkages, the finance ministry said.

Last month, Pakistan and the UAE agreed to pursue a formal agreement on “pre-immigration clearance” for Pakistani nationals travelling to the Gulf country, the interior ministry said.

Under the proposed arrangement, immigration formalities wo­u­ld be completed in Pakistan before departure, allowing passengers to avoid routine immigration processing on arrival in the UAE.