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Canada Lifts Travel Visa Restrictions on Emiratis

29 May 2018 11:02 | Canadian Business Council Abu Dhabi (Administrator)

But Emiratis must still file an electronic travel authorisation to be screened before travelling


Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a meeting with Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Ottawa. The UAE delegation included by Sultan Bin Saeed Al Manso uri, Shamma Suhail Faris Al Mazroui, Omar Sultan Al Olama, and Fahd Saeed Al Raqbani, UAE Ambassador to Canada.

Dubai: The UAE passport has another feather in its cap as one of the world’s most powerful passports following a Monday decision by the Canadian government to lift pre-entry visa restrictions on Emiratis travelling to that country.

Now ranked as the 23rd most powerful passport, visa-free access to Canada now enables UAE citizens to travel to 155 countries around the world without obtaining pre-entry visas.

Canada is the ninth country this year to lift visa restrictions for UAE nationals following countries such as China, Ireland, Burkina Faso, Uruguay, Guinea, Tonga and Honduras.

Citizens of the UAE can now obtain a visa upon arrival when visiting Canada, said officials following a high-level meeting on Monday between Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmad Hussen.

The new travel rules take effect on June 5.

Emiratis who study or temporarily work in Canada will still need to apply for a study or work permit as the new rules apply only to visitors and those transiting through the country on international flights.

“United Arab Emirates is a key strategic partner and lifting the visa requirement will help reaffirm the strong relationship between our two countries. It will also promote increased tourism, cultural, academic and study exchanges, as well as foster new business, trade, and investment opportunities,” said Hussen in a statement.

Canada enjoys a growing relationship with the UAE where 40,000 Canadians live and work.

As many as 150 Canadian companies do business in the UAE as well.

The new visa announcement follows Hussen’s first visit in May 2017 to the UAE on a formal mission to boost Canada’s destination profile abroad and introduce a fast-track strategy to attract educated, skilled workers to Canada.

At the time, Hussen met with high-level UAE government and education officials in Abu Dhabi and was front and centre at a low-key, meet-and-greet gathering alongside Masud Hussain, Ambassador of Canada to the UAE

“The UAE is a very important country for Canada and I am here to reinforce that message,” Hussen told Gulf News during his visit. “In that capacity, I am here to encourage more tourism from the UAE, more international students from the UAE and more business travellers from this country.”

The ministry said on Monday that the travel visa exemption was reached after extensive review and was based on “a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the UAE against Canada’s visa policy criteria. The evaluation found that the UAE meets Canada’s criteria for a visa exemption”.

(With Reports from Abdulla Rasheed, Abu Dhabi Editor)

Source: gulfnews.com


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