Dubai welcomes back tourists

Dubai will be welcoming back international guests from July (photo courtesy Fredrik Ohlander/Unsplash).

Dubai will be allowing overseas visitors to enter the country from next month.

The announcement was made by Dubai’s Supreme Committee on June 21. It also stated that foreign nationals holding residency visas issued in Dubai will be permitted to return from June 22. Thousands of residents have been locked out of emirate since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year.

Citizens and residents of Dubai will be allowed to travel to any foreign country from June 23, provided the destination country is willing to receive them. PCR tests at Dubai airports must be taken on their return.

Tourists and overseas visitors will be permitted to enter Dubai from July 7. They must fill-in a health declaration form before embarking and hold valid health insurance. All tourists must also have a PCR test with a maximum validity of four days ahead of the date of departure.

On arrival in Dubai, they must register their details on the COVID-19 DXB app before they leave the airport terminal and if they cannot provide negative PCR test results, they will be tested at Dubai airports.

All arrivals will be subject to thermal screening and if they are suspected to have coronavirus symptoms, Dubai airports have the right to re-test. If a test returns a positive result, the traveller must isolate at a government institution for 14 days at their own expense.

Residents who hold Dubai-issued visas will be permitted to return by pre-booking flights on any airline, but they must obtain an approval coordinated between the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs and the airline. All returning residents will be given a PCR test at Dubai airports and must self-isolate at home until they receive their test result. Positive results will result in home isolation for 14 days.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has so far recorded almost 45,000 cases with 302 deaths. All UAE passenger and transit flights were suspended on March 25.

Dubai flag carrier Emirates recently added ten more destinations to its flight schedule bringing its passenger flight offering to 40 cities, including Singapore and Hong Kong.