UAE residents who have stayed outside of the country for over 180 days can now return

Dubai-based carrier Flydubai has confirmed via a statement on its website that UAE residents who have stayed outside of the country for over 180 days can now return until March 31, 2021.

The airline added that those who hold a valid Dubai-issued residence visa, should obtain an approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) to return to Dubai before booking their flight. Without approval to return to Dubai from the GDRFA, they will not be allowed to board their flight. (The visa validity can be checked here.)

For others with a valid residence visa issued by any other emirate in the UAE, they will need to confirm their entry/re-entry to the UAE at uaeentry.ica.gov.ae before booking their flight. If they do not confirm this, they will also be denied boarding. (visas issued from emirates other than Dubai can check their visa validity here).

However, the airline confirmed added that those who have a UAE resident visa which expired before March 1, 2020, will not be allowed to enter the UAE, and the same rule shall apply to those with a UAE resident visa which expired after March 1, 2020, and which was extended until December 31, 2020. These individuals will need to apply for new visas.

Covid-19 PCR tests

The airline stated that UAE residents arriving in Dubai will be required to take two Covid-19 PCR tests (one no more than 96 hours prior to the departure of your inbound flight to Dubai and the second on arrival in Dubai), if their flight originated from one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia or Zimbabwe.

UAE resident arriving in Dubai, whose journey did not originate in any of the above mentioned countries have the option of presenting a negative Covid-19 PCR test result (from a test taken no more than 96 hours prior to the departure of their inbound flight to Dubai) or taking a Covid-19 PCR test on arrival in Dubai.
UAE nationals are not required to take a PCR test before returning to Dubai, regardless of the destination they are coming from and the time spent there. Emiratis will be tested on arrival in Dubai.

Those who are mandated to to take a Covid-19 PCR test prior to the their departure to Dubai, must present a printed copy of the negative result in English or Arabic in order to to be accepted for travel.

Soft copies on mobile phones and handwritten test results will not be accepted.

Children under the age of 12 and passengers with moderate to severe disabilities are exempt from testing.

Those who undergo a Covid-19 PCR test on arrival in Dubai, will need to quarantine until they receive their results.

On Tuesday, the Dubai Health Authority has shortened the the isolation period in the emirate for certain Covid-19 patients to 10 days from the initial 14-day period.

Read: Dubai: New compulsory quarantine rules introduced

The shortened isolation period is applicable to infected patients who did not develop any symptoms since testing positive. The reduced isolation period also applies to patients with mild cases of Covid-19 who have fully recovered from their symptoms – without the use of fever-reducing medications.