Covid19: UAE bans entry from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka

To prevent further spread of Covid19, the UAE will suspend entry for travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka from Wednesday (May 12), the country's National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority and Civil Aviation (NCEMA) announced on Monday.

All those who have been in the aforementioned countries in the last 14 days before entering the Emirates will be restricted entry access. However, travellers or transit passengers heading towards countries from the UAE are permitted to travel, and cargo flights between the countries will continue to operate. NCEMA's tweet read as "Suspension of entry for travelers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka on national and foreign flights, also for transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights traveling to UAE and bound for these countries."

UAE citizens, diplomats, official delegates, business planes and golden residence holders are exempted from the new directive given that they adhere to all the precautionary measures in the country, NCEMA noted. The measures include PCR test upon entry, mandatory quarantine for ten days and another set of PCR tests on day 4 and 8 since the entry into UAE.

Travellers coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka through other countries are required to stay for at least 14 days in those countries before applying to enter into the UAE and submit the evidence documenting their stay on arrival, NCEMA noted. The authority advised all travellers affected by the decision to contact the relevant airlines to reschedule their flights without delay. Earlier, the UAE had also banned entry for travellers from India until further notice.