A news story regarding UAE visa ban 2025 has been circulating social media and many websites are also sharing it vehemently. There is no official news regarding the UAE visa ban on African countries and South Asian countries. However, this is not the first time such news has created waves of panic among the citizens of the countries. Let’s see what the officials have to say about the current situation related to the news of UAE visa suspended for nine countries.
What Are The UAE Visa Banned Countries?
According to an immigration circular distributed to recruitment agencies and travel offices, the suspension applies to a handful of African countries and extends to Bangladesh, Yemen, and Bangladesh.
The UAE government has not yet issued any circulation regarding the UAE visa banned countries, but there are a few sources online that claim that there will be visa restrictions for nine countries. The list of the countries are:
- Uganda
- Sudan
- Somalia
- Cameroon
- Libya
- Yemen
- Afghanistan
- Lebanon
- Bangladesh
Many websites are reporting that these countries ended up in the restricted zone due to security concerns, strained diplomatic relationships, and lingering health-related issues post Covid-19. Gulf countries are infamous for implementing immigration restrictions to manage bilateral relations.
UAE Visa Ban On African Countries
The news of UAE halting the issuance of long-term visas to Ugandan citizens due to visa overstays and unlawful activities has been circulating for quite some time now.
This policy change is supposedly to mitigate the concerns of illegal migration and criminal risks. However, there was no news of imposing a complete travel ban on the Ugandans; it allows short-term visas under specific conditions.
UAE has once before issued a visa ban on Nigerian nationals, which it lifted in 2024. So, it is a common occurrence for African nationals.
There are many reports of African nationals in the UAE performing criminal activities, including gold smuggling, human trafficking, organized financial crimes (money laundering and scams). In 2019, several Nigerian nationals were arrested and sentenced in Sharjah as they committed violent robberies at ATMs and money exchanges across the country.
Other issues include narcotics smuggling and online scams committed. It is important to remember that these crimes are committed by some individuals and do not represent the whole African community — but when the UAE alters its policies, everyone in that particular African country suffers.
Bangladesh Visa Ban In UAE News
There are around 0.84 million Bangladeshi nationals residing in the United Arab Emirates, which accounts for almost 7.4% of the Arab country’s population. After Indians and Pakistani nationals, Bangladeshi citizens are the third largest foreign nationals in UAE.
Tareq Ahmes, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, says that the reports circulating on social media are not the official news from the UAE government with bleak sources. The senior official further added that the news is inauthentic as the government has not issued any new directives regarding the ban.
Is UAE Ban On Visa Permanent?
According to the Indian source, the ban is for an indefinite period but it is not permanent. Once the UAE lifts the ban, the citizens from these countries will be able to gain access to the UAE visa application process via the online portals, embassies, and consulate services.
If you are one of the citizens of the countries mentioned above, what you can do to confirm whether the news is legitimate or not is to get in touch with the embassy or any government official.
The news circulating online is highly confidential and there has been no official announcement which leaves a lot of room for fake news spreaders and chaos instigators. You can wait until there is any official confirmation or news regarding the UAE visa ban update before making any major travel decisions.
Also read: Trump’s H-1B Visa 2025 Shake Up: Everything You Need to Know
