DUBAI – The authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have resumed issuing work visas to Pakistanis and other citizens, days after blocking the same.
For a couple of weeks, nationals of Pakistan, India, and other countries were unable to have their work visas processed due to the ‘demographic diversity’ requirement.
When the employers applied for new permits, especially for citizens from Pakistan, India, and other South Asian countries, a message popped up to “achieve demographic diversity while hiring”, asking the employers to ensure that the first 20 percent of available quotas is diversified.
As per the fresh information available, the visas have now been processed and the backlog has largely been cleared.
Though travel agents confirm the easing of visa processing, the reason for such is not clear; it is still unknown whether the restrictions by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) have been lifted or such relaxation is being granted on a case-to-case basis.
A MoHRE call center agent confirmed that companies can now apply for visas regardless of nationality, Khaleej Times reported.
As far as the requirement is concerned, the service centres in Dubai have stated that MoHRE had informed establishments to diversify nationalities when hiring.
It was also reported that this restriction is linked to the demographic diversity of the establishments and is not associated with a specific nationality. The restriction affected all employment levels, from skilled to unskilled.
It is believed that the restriction was enforced to ensure that companies are not becoming overly populated with any particular nationality.
In this regard, exemptions were granted to companies with less than 20 employees and firms within freezones.
As the visa processing has been resumed, the workers in the emirates have heaved a sigh of relief as many of them had left their jobs and applied for better positions but the suspension in visa processing had tarnished their plans.
