Claim: The UAE has banned visitors from certain cities across Pakistan from entering on a visit visa.
Fact: UAE immigration authorities have rejected the claim and confirmed that they have not banned visitors from any city in Pakistan.
On 24 December 2022, several pages on Facebook and Instagram shared the claim that Pakistanis living in 24 or more cities have been specifically banned from entering the UAE on a visit visa.
These cities included Abbottabad, Attock, Bajaur Agency, Chakwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Hunza, Quetta, Kasur, Kohat, Kotli, Khushab, Khurrum Agency, Larkana, Mohmand Agency, Muzaffargarh, Nawabshah, Parachinar, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Skardu and Sukkur.
Fact or Fiction?
On 26 December 2022, Geo News reported the Consulate General of UAE Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi’s response. The UAE has strongly refuted claims that it denies visas to Pakistani citizens from specific cities, branding the reports as “fake news”.
Speaking to Geo News in Karachi, Remeithi, confirmed that the UAE government has not imposed any such visa ban.
The Consulate General of the UAE in Karachi has expressed his regret over the circulation of false reports about a visa ban for Pakistani citizens from certain cities. He emphasised that Pakistani citizens can apply for any type of UAE visa, and stressed that visas are, indeed, being granted to individuals from the cities mentioned in the viral posts.
Remeithi stated that in addition to the consulates in Islamabad and Lahore, he is personally issuing visas to citizens born or residing in these cities from the Karachi consulate. He also noted that rumours of this nature are not uncommon and tend to spread from time to time.
Furthermore, no such reports were found either on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the official website for immigration in the United Arab Emirates.
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the 30-day period from 28 November to 28 December using the following search terms:
- “24 cities” “ban” “UAE”
- UAE ban Pakistan 24 cities
The first search term received 669 interactions across 19 posts on Facebook. It can be found here, here, here, here, and here.
The second search term received 3,187 interactions across 34 posts. It is available here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Aaj News also posted the false claim in a video clip on their verified Facebook page on 26 December 2022.
Indian Punjabi-language news outlet ABP Sanjha also posted the claim on their verified page.
On Twitter, the false claim wash shared here, and here.
Conclusion: The UAE did not ban anyone from Pakistan from entering on a visit visa.