The UAE visit visa cannot be extended without exiting the country, according to the travel agents operating in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
A Dubai-based travel agent told the UAE’s leading newspaper Khaleej Times that they have been informed by the immigration department that the extension of visit visa without exiting the UAE has been stopped, so now people need to leave the county to renew the visa.
According to the agent, that relaxation, which was granted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been withdrawn.
Another Dubai-based travel agent said that they are still waiting for an official confirmation regarding the visit visa status.
Visit visa renewal applications were getting rejected as the process was showing an error, it said.
Most of the people were noticed discussing the development in Facebook groups and on other social media platforms.
The UAE’s tourism sector has seen a robust growth after easing of rules after the pandemic.
Recently, Dubai International (DXB) was declared the Airport of the Year at the Aviation Business Awards 2022.
The Dubai airport was picked as the winner in the category based on its “unrivalled performance” over the past 12 months.
Dubai airport welcomed 28 million passengers in the six months of 2022, nearly 3 times the volume during the same period in 2021.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports received the award at a ceremony held in Dubai.
