New UAE visa regulation for Kenyans

A new visa regulation set by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) requires citizens from Kenya to have at least a bachelor's degree to travel into the Arab country. 

According to the new regulation, even Kenyan transit passengers will be detained at UAE airports if they fail to prove that they have at least a bachelor's degree. 

"It is unfair for the Dubai government to punish all Kenyans over this misunderstanding," the chairman of Parliament's departmental committee on Foreign Relations and Defense, Aden Keynan, said on Tuesday.

"Mr Wetang'ula and his team must be proactive in their dealings with such crucial trade partners so that such hitches do not occur,” he added. 

The UAE's new visa regulation took effect just four days after the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah al-Nahayan met with Kenya's high-ranking officials, including the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the country's Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula. 

The exact reasons for the new move are still unknown. However, Mr. Keynan said it was in response to the deportation of UAE nationals touring Kenya. 

About 36,000 Kenyans are currently in Dubai for work and business purposes while others use the Arab state as a transit route to other Middle East countries. 

Qatar's plans to scrap its visa-on-arrival facility for nationals of 33 countries has been delayed

Qatar's plans to scrap its visa-on-arrival facility for nationals of 33 countries has been delayed.The old system will remain in place despite the Gulf state announcing new rules earlier this month which were set to be introduced on May 1.

Under the regulations, the nationals of 33 countries, including the US, UK and expat residents of the GCC, would have to apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar.

But media in Qatar reported on Monday that the move had been delayed after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry received requests from some countries to continue with the old system and allow their nationals time before the new entry visa rules are enforced.

According to Qatar News Agency (QNA), a source at the Consular Affairs Section of the Foreign Ministry said that the requests of these countries were being studied.

“It has, therefore, been decided that the existing visa-on-arrival scheme at the Doha International Airport for the citizens of the 33 countries will remain unchanged,” QNA quoted a senior Foreign Ministry official as saying.

The regulations would have meant that all passengers wishing to travel to Qatar for business purposes will need to have their visas arranged by a local sponsor, via the Ministry of Interior.

Qatar bans visas on arrival for UK, US nationals

British and American citizens will be among the nationals of 33 countries that will have to apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar, according to new rules being enacted by the emirate from May 1. The regulations also mean that all passengers wishing to travel to Qatar for business purposes will need to have their visas arranged by a local sponsor, via the Ministry of Interior.

British nationals wishing to apply for a Qatari visa will need to provide their last three months’ bank statements, which must show the name and address of the applicant, and prove that there is at least $1,300 in the applicant’s account.A single-entry tourist visa for all nationalities will cost $30.

The British embassy in Doha confirmed to Arabian Business on Thursday that the new rules were coming into effect, but said it was still waiting for further information from the Qatari Ministry of the Interior.

Other than the US and the UK, nationals from France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Spain, Monaco, the Vatican, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Lichtenstein, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea are also affected by the new ruling

The Ministry of Labour plans to relax transfer of workers between companies to lessen dependency on foreign recruitment

Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Labour plans to relax transfer of workers between companies to lessen dependency on foreign recruitment, a top official said on Sunday.

"A draft decision was submitted to the Cabinet to reduce fees for transfer of workers between companies to increase the productivity of the local work-force and thus reduce our dependency on foreign recruitment," Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, told .

Gobash said a study of the current fees for certain measures showed discouragement of the optimal use of the local workforce and the backing of dependency on foreign recruitment.

"So we thought of a number of measures to address this issue, which will be announced once the Cabinet approves them," he said.

The minister also changed the rules, allowing female expatriates who are under the sponsorship of their mothers, brothers, uncles or other family members, to work in the country.

The rules will be applicable to any woman who has a valid residency in the country regardless of the kin relationship of her sponsor.

Earlier only expatriate women under the sponsorship of their father or husband were allowed to work in the UAE. Under the labour law no expatriates are allowed to work in the country unless they obtain a work permit and labour card.

Gobash said these rules have also social aspect to provide women with jobs to help them lead a dignified and decent life.

UAE laws do not allow expatriates' families to sponsor a male after the age of 18 years, but females can continue to be sponsored until they get married, when the sponsorship is usually transferred from her father to her husband

GCC residents apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar - new Qatari visa regulations

A consular official at the Qatari consulate in Dubai has confirmed  that all expatriate GCC residents will have to apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar, as part of new rules being enacted by the emirate from May 1.

But only fourteen working days before the new regulations come into force, a number of key details are still unclear.

The official said that application process for a visa would take “two to three days” and that he was not aware of any professions that were exempted from the regulations.

He also said that he had “no idea” as to the cost of the fees for processing the application.

British and American citizens will be among the nationals of 33 countries that will have to apply for a visa prior to arrival in Qatar, according to a statement posted on the website of Qatar’s embassy in the UK last Thursday.

The regulations also mean that all passengers wishing to travel to Qatar for business purposes will need to have their visas arranged by a local sponsor, via the Ministry of Interior.

Qatar’s Ministry of Interior had no comment . It is still unclear as to why the changes are being introduced.

A British embassy consular official in Doha told  on Sunday that no information, other than what was on the Qatari embassy in the UK’s website, had been made available.

But fears that other GCC countries - including the UAE - would follow Qatar’s lead appear to be unfounded.