UAE temporarily suspends visa-on-arrival facility for passengers coming from India

In a recent travel update, the UAE government has temporarily suspended the visa-on-arrival service for passengers arriving from India, or those who have been in India in the past 14 days. The announcement was made by the Etihad Airways on Monday; the UAE authorities have offered no reason for the suspension.

Etihad Airways took to Twitter to announce the following:
“The UAE authorities have decided to temporarily suspend the Visa-on-arrival facility for passengers who are arriving from or been in India in the past 14 days. We're working to update our website, please keep an eye on https://bit.ly/TravelGuideEN for latest regulations".


It was only last week that Etihad Airways had announced that Indians with a visa or residence permit issued by the US, UK or an EU Member State would be able to visit Abu Dhabi. Before this, on August 3, the UAE lifted its ban for transit travellers for six countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda, provided they provided a valid COVID-19 test certificate issued within 48 hours of the scheduled flight departure.
UAE's National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) had said on Twitter, "These categories include those with valid residency permits who have received full vaccination doses in the UAE and 14 days have passed since receiving the second dose and who have vaccination certificates approved by the official authorities in the country."

Apparently, the UAE is one of the prime transit hubs for travellers connecting the USA, Europe and African countries.