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UAE issues travel ban for citizens who are not fully vaccinated

Citizens returning from countries on the curb list must present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result conducted within 48 hours from the time of departure

by Varun Godinho

October 27, 2021

Starting Wednesday, October 27, the UAE has banned travel of its citizens who are not fully vaccinated to countries which are on the curb list.

The updated protocols, issued by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), allow citizens who have received all the doses of the approved Covid-19 vaccines to travel.

The new protocol makes an exception for UAE diplomatic missions, patients, as well as humanitarian cases, and for those who are studying abroad on scholarships and have not received both doses of the vaccine, provided that prior approval is obtained from the authorities to travel.

Furthermore, citizens returning from countries on the curb list are required to present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result with a QR code conducted within 48 hours from the time of departure as well as present the result of another Rapid PCR Test that was conducted not more than six hours before the departure time at the airport of the destination.

#الطوارئ_والأزمات والطيران المدني: تحديث بروتوكول سفر المواطنين للدول التي تم منع السفر إليها اعتباراً من الغد 27 أكتوبر، بهدف تعزيز استراتيجية الدولة بمرحلة التعافي والانفتاح التدريجي بكافة القطاعات الحيوية والعودة للحياة الطبيعية الجديدة https://t.co/FFn2qiaeLS #يدا_بيد_نتعافى pic.twitter.com/1GIyedGwTU

— NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) October 26, 2021

Vaccinated travellers must take a PCR test upon arrival and take two more PCR tests on the fourth and eighth days.

For the unvaccinated travellers, they must take a PCR test upon arrival, quarantine for 10 days and take another test on the ninth day.

Among the other departure requirements, citizens must register in the ‘Tawajudi’ service and upload a negative PCR test result valid for 48 hours and their itinerary, and must ensure that they adhere to the destination’s requirements.

The NCEMA and GCAA also advised travelers to visit health centres in the event of symptoms or infection with the virus and to notify the UAE’s embassy in that country. It advised people above the age of 70 not to travel too.

The UAE has administered nearly 21 million doses of the vaccine. The percentage of the eligible population in the country who have been fully vaccinated stands at 97.16 per cent. The percentage of the eligible population in the country who have received at least one dose of the vaccine stands at 87 per cent.