By Fola James
Rich Nigerians wishing to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE for pleasures and business engagements can now do so without worry after the Gulf nation debunked claims that it has shut its doors on tourists from Africa’s most populous country.
The denial came on the crest of media reports that the Gulf nation has imposed travel ban on Nigeria.
No fewer than 200 thousand Nigerian tourist visit the oil rich country annually and it has been estimated that Nigerians spend close to N1 billion to enjoy themselves while they are on holiday and business journey to the country.
Therefore, many Nigerians were shocked on the reports that travel restriction has been imposed on travelers from the country.
But while responding to the reports on Thursday, the UAE Embassy in Abuja refuted the report, affirming that the bilateral relations between her and Nigeria remains strong..
This disclosure was made in an official statement by the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Abuja on Thursday, August 6, 2020.
The Embassy however stated that travel between Nigeria and the UAE has been limited due to the closure of the Nigerian airspace.
The statement said “In response to recent press and social media reports regarding purported travel restrictions between the UAE and Nigeria, and in an affirmation of the growing bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, the UAE Embassy in Abuja denies the accuracy of the information contained in these reports.
“At the onset of the COVlD-19 pandemic, the UAE took a number of precautionary measures to combat the virus’ spread, including the temporary suspension on issuing UAE visas for all nationalities as of March 17, 2020.
“After entering the recovery phase of the pandemic, the UAE eased some measures on July 7, permitting visitors from various countries to adhere to the necessary precautionary measures, including by showing negative PCR test results within 92 hours of traveling to the UAE. This includes those visiting from Nigeria.”
The Embassy further stated that the two countries will continue to work on grey areas to make travels between them seamless.
Recall that many Nigerians, were few days ago shocked after a travel agency claimed that visa renewals for Nigerians in the UAE, approval for permanent residents, and tourist visas have been discontinued.
