India to UAE Guidelines Effective 5th Aug 2021

Effective 5th August 2021 00:01 hours UAE local time, the following passengers are permitted to travel from India to UAE:

1. UAE resident visa holders, who has obtained the required vaccination doses in the UAE and completed fourteen days after the 2nd dose and holds a vaccination certificate/ card issued from a medical institution in the UAE, including the vaccine certificate available in the smart application(s) of Government Medical entities in the UAE (including the certificate in Al Hosn app)

2. Medical staff working in UAE including the doctors, nurses and technicians (Vaccinated or not Vaccinated)

3. Education sector staff/ employees, including professors and teachers of universities, colleges, schools and institutes in the UAE (Vaccinated or not vaccinated) 

4. Students who are currently studying in the UAE (vaccinated or not vaccinated)

5. Valid visa holders, on humanitarian grounds and/ or cases (i.e. family reunion) (vaccinated or not vaccinated)

6. Employees/ Staff of Local and Federal Government entities (vaccinated or not vaccinated)

7. Medical treatment cases in UAE (vaccinated or not vaccinated)
All passengers who are exempted above, must comply with the following:
1. Dubai visa holders must submit a request through the website of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), for the necessary approval through the website: https://smart.gdrfad.gov.ae/homepage.aspx.
Other passengers must apply to get the approval from uaeentry.ica.gov.ae.

2. Dubai resident visa holders, who have obtained the required vaccination doses in the UAE and completed fourteen days after the 2nd dose, must submit the vaccination certificate/ card through the website https://smart.gdrfad.gov.ae/homepage.aspx and other resident visa holders through uaeentry.ica.gov.ae

3. Hold a VALID Negative Covid-19 Test certificate with QR code that is issued within the valid time frame of 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample issued from approved and authorised health service provider/ lab

4. Rapid test conducted before boarding the aircraft from the Indian departure station

5. Undergo a PCR test at the arriving airport

6. Quarantine for 10 days for all arrivals and PCR test on day 4, and day 8

7. Wear the tracking medical wristband

8. Medical follow-up for the arrivals and regular follow-up for the medical reports of the arrival passengers.
In addition, the following passengers are permitted to travel from India to UAE:
1) UAE residents with Gold or Silver residency permit.
2) Expo2020 international participants, Expo2020 exhibitors and personnel sponsored by Expo2020 organizer.
3) Employees belonging to vital functions according to the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
4) Citizens of the United Arab Emirates and their first degree relatives.
5) Diplomatic personnel between the UAE and the applicable countries, including the administrative workers in the embassies of the UAE in these countries and the embassies of the applicable countries.
6) Official delegations, subject to obtaining prior approval.
7) Business passengers provided they hold an approval from General Authority for the Security of Ports, Borders and Free Zones and Heads of higher committees of the Emergency, crisis and disaster management teams of the concerned Emirate.
Passengers travelling from India to Dubai on Economic and Scientific missions, who obtained pre-authorization, are included in the exempted categories of passengers who will be granted permission to enter Dubai.
Passengers exempted must comply with the following:
1) PCR test within (48) hours from the date of departure and provided that:
a) It is showing negative result
b) It is conducted by an accredited laboratory; and
c) It bears a QR Code.
2) Persons entering UAE shall:
a) Be subject to the required public health protocol upon arrival and any Naturalization and Residency conditions;
b) Wear a monitoring and tracking device;
c) Comply with a 10-day quarantine period; and
d) Complete a PCR test upon arrival followed by two other PCR tests on the 4th day and 8th day of their quarantine period.
Passengers travelling from India to Dubai on Economic and Scientific missions, who obtained pre-authorization, are included in the exempted categories of passengers who will be granted permission to enter Dubai.
All passengers are required to check the UAE Government Authority Website for the latest updates on travel.
Know these mandatory requirements for the Negative COVID-19 RT-PCR Medical Test:
1. The Negative COVID-19 RT-PCR Medical Test result should only be taken from ICMR/PURE HEALTH accredited laboratories. It is recommended that passengers travelling to Dubai obtain RT -PCR reports from Pure Health approved laboratories.
2. The test result should be issued, duly signed and stamped in English in the ORIGINAL LETTERHEAD of the testing lab(name and contact details of the laboratory/ health institute providing the report is mandatory).
3. The test result should NOT be handwritten or have corrections. Kindly note that photocopies of the results will NOT be accepted. Damaged reports will not be accepted.
4. The mandatory 48-hour time frame begins from the time/date the swab/sample was collected for the test.
5. Only NASOPHARYNGEAL and OROPHARYNGEAL swab test analysed by Real-Time RT-PCR(Open System) is accepted.
***IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR PASSENGERS TO DUBAI***
All passengers travelling from India to Dubai Airports must:
1. Hold a VALID Covid-19 Test certificate that is issued within 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample and also ensure that the time of sample collection – “Date & Time” and time of reporting “Result date and Result time” are accurate.
The certificate must indicate a NEGATIVE test result, described either in ARABIC or ENGLISH, issued from a certified lab at the original point of destination, where the passenger is travelling from.
2. It is MANDATORY that the report includes a QR code which is linked to the original report, for verification purposes by the airlines through a mobile phone and validation by the representatives of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) upon the passenger arrivals in Dubai Airports.
As per Dubai Civil Aviation Authorities, RT-PCR Test done from the laboratories listed below will not be accepted.
1. Suryam Lab in Jaipur
2. Dr P. BHASIN Pathlabs(p) Ltd. in Delhi
3. Noble Diagnostic Centre in Delhi
4. 360 Diagnostic & Health. Services
It has been further recommended that passengers to Dubai may be advised to obtain pre-travel RT-PCR reports from Pure Health approved Laboratories.
Other Information
Passengers must arrive at the airport four hours prior to departure, follow all measures to keep yourself protected at the airport and onboard the plane. Maintain social distance at all queuing points.
If the test result is positive, the passenger will be required to follow guidelines as issued by the authorities.  Mandatory requirements may need to be met at your own cost.
*Passengers must ensure that they comply with all travel and health requirements of the destination country. If passengers are denied entry, they will have to bear the cost of penalty/ deportation.

Flights from restricted countries: Which Covid vaccines are approved?

The updated ICA approval webpage is asking passengers to upload passport details, vaccine information, and PCR test results prior to their departure.

Here are documents and passenger details needed for approval:

Step 1: Fill in applicant information

>Applicant information includes details such as name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, expected date of arrival, arrival port, and country of departure, e-mail.

>A QR code will be sent to your e-mail. Please make sure that the e-mail entered is correct

Step 2: Fill in passport information

>Applicants must fill in passport-type, expiry date, issue date, number, and issue country

Step 3: Fill in address in the UAE

>Provide local address in the UAE along with mobile number

Step 4: Fill in vaccination and PCR test dates

>The ICA has provided a list of eight vaccines that residents can choose from in the form, which are: SputnikV, Janssen (Johnson and Johnson), Moderna, Novavax, OxfordUni AstraZeneca, PfizerBioNTech, Sinopharm, and Sinovac (CoronaVac).

>Applicants must fill out the dates on which they received their first, second, and third doses (wherever applicable). The PCR test date and test result dates must also be mentioned.

Step 5: Upload documents

>Passport image, personal image, and PCR test results must be uploaded. The Covid-19 vaccination card is optional.


Step 6: Declarations

>Click on the website declaration button stating full adherence to UAE health authorities laws and confirming all documents attached are correct.

Step 7: Hit send

UAE’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) on Tuesday announced that the country will lift a ban on transit passenger traffic from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda from 05th August 2021.
UAE, the major international transit hub, has banned passengers from a lot of South Asian and African countries for several months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, the NCEMA on Twitter said that all passengers traveling from countries where flights had been suspended would be able to transit through its airports from Thursday as long as they present negative PCR tests taken 72 hours prior to departure.
Moreover, UAE’s airports will allocate special lounges for transit passengers while taking all precautionary and preventive measures.
​Who Can Travel To UAE?

• Those with valid residency visas who received the two doses of vaccine in the UAE, and that 14 days passed since receiving the second dose as well as having vaccination certificates approved by official authorities in the country.
• Medical personnel working in the country including doctors, nurses, technicians.
• Those working in the educational sector teach in universities, colleges, schools, and institutes.
• Students studying in the country.
• People who deserve humanitarian consideration with valid residency visas.
• Workers in federal and local government authorities.
• Cases of those completing treatment in the country.