Why UAE Has Stopped Issuing Visas to Pakanis Reasons and Impact Latest Updates Explained

UAE ban Pakan Visa Reasons and Impact: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has halted issuing regular visas to Pakani nationals, a move Islamabad now acknowledges is tied to concerns over some applicants “getting involved in criminal activities.”
The suspension, long suspected due to months of unusually high visa rejections, was officially confirmed during a Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights meeting on Thursday.
A senior interior minry official told lawmakers that Emirati authorities had raised red flags over rising instances of Pakani travellers implicated in offences, prompting the sharp tightening of visa approvals.
5 key questions on UAE visa ban on Pakan
01Has the UAE officially banned visas for Pakani citizens?No formal ban has been announced, but according to a report in Dawn, Pakani officials confirm that the UAE has informally suspended regular visa issuance for ordinary passport holders, with approvals now extremely rare.
Pakan’s Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry, while briefing the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, said both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had “stopped short of imposing a ban on the Pakani passport”. Such a move, he warned, would be extremely difficult to reverse.
02Why has the UAE halted most visas for Pakanis?Emirati authorities have reportedly raised concerns over Pakani applicants’ involvement in criminal activities, questionable educational credentials, and documentation irregularities, prompting heightened scrutiny.
Pakan’s Senate Committee Chairperson Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri confirmed the minry’s remarks, saying the restrictions were linked to concerns about Pakani travellers “getting involved in criminal activities” in the UAE. She added that very few visas had been issued in recent months, and only “after much difficulty”.
03Who is still eligible for visas?Only blue passport (official) and diplomatic passport holders continue to receive visas. Ordinary passport holders face an unofficial freeze.
04How serious is the situation?Pakan’s Additional Interior Secretary revealed that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia came close to imposing a full ban on the Pakani passport, calling the current refusal pattern “serious and significant.”
Earlier, in April, the UAE ambassador had announced that visa issues had been resolved and Pakanis would be eligible for a five-year visa.
However, the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakanis was told in January that some UAE visas had been “unofficially closed”, partly due to concerns that Pakanis travelling on visit visas were engaging in begging rather than legitimate work.
05What led to the current crisis despite previous assurances?Although UAE officials earlier claimed visa issues had been “resolved,” widespread rejections have persed since mid-year, with artificial intelligence-based verification systems and stricter screening further slowing applications.