3:53 p.m., August 28
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan is aware of the problem and is working on a solution.
Tajik citizens are complaining on social media that they are facing difficulties in the process of obtaining a visa to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promises to solve the problem.
Many people are reporting on social media that they have been denied visas without explanation over the past two weeks. The existence of this problem was also confirmed by representatives of several travel agencies.
Men are not allowed?
In particular, a representative of the travel company “Prestige Tour” told “Asia Plus” that currently only men are denied visas.
“Tajik citizens have been dealing with this problem for 15 days. If a visa is requested for the whole family, it is granted, but if the men apply separately, their requests are rejected. The reasons for the rejection have not yet been clarified, however, the embassy informed us that the citizens , who overstay their visa by even one hour, will be rejected,” said a representative of the company.
Hikmatullo Juraev, a representative of the travel company Fly.tj, also confirmed in an interview with “Asia-Plus” that the applications of men who want to get a visa on their own are rejected.
“Fly Dubai” informed us that Tajik citizens come to Dubai and break the law, so men traveling to this country do not get visas themselves,” said Juraev.
He added that currently even Fly.tj does not accept applications from men who apply for a trip individually.
“We do not accept their requests to avoid misunderstandings when they request a refund after a visa is denied,” he stressed.
According to him, the problem with obtaining visas for men has existed for more than 20 days.
The travel company “Atlas Tour” also said that visas are not given to men and women and families get them without problems. Representatives of the company also said that the authorities did not explain the reasons for the refusal of visas for the men.
“Today, a man with his wife and children applied for a visa, and they were also told that they cannot guarantee his acceptance. As far as we know, Tajik citizens working illegally have been identified in Dubai, and therefore visas are not granted to the men, we have not yet received an official explanation,” – she said company.
The authorities are aware
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan informed “Asia-Plus” that they are aware of the problem of obtaining visas to the UAE and are looking into it.
“We are aware of this issue and have contacted UAE representatives for clarification, awaiting their response,” the ministry said.
It should be noted that the cost of a UAE visa for Tajik citizens is 1067 somoni (100 US dollars).
As of January 1, 2022, Tajikistan has established a unilateral visa-free regime with 52 foreign countries, including the UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain, which allows citizens of these countries to stay in Tajikistan without a visa for 30 days.
