Residents who have been stuck abroad for months rushed to book tickets to the Emirates on Wednesday, after an approval system for travellers was waived.
The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) did away with immigration procedures that required residents, who were abroad when the UAE grounded flights in March, to apply for permission to return to the Emirates.
Instead, residents must now update their personal data on an online portal and be tested for Covid-19 within 96 hours of travel. No approval is needed to book a flight back.
This came as welcome news to thousands of residents, some of whom had applied for permission to return numerous times over the past five months.
I actually came to Pakistan for my wedding which was on March 20 and we ended up having an unexpected five month honeymoon
Abu Dhabi resident Hamza Naeem, 29, has been in Pakistan since March 6 after he flew to Islamabad to get married.
“I actually came to Pakistan for my wedding which was on March 20 and we ended up having an unexpected five month honeymoon," he said.
He and his wife were due to return to the UAE on April 2 but their flights were cancelled.
“I initially heard the unofficial news about passengers no longer needing ICA approval to return to the country on Monday.”
Mr Naeem took a chance and booked a flight on Pakistan International Airlines for August 15 because ticket prices were rising with each passing day.
“Thankfully, the news was finally confirmed this morning which was such a relief.”
Residents must still update their data, including their Emirates ID, passport number and citizenship, at uaeentry.ica.gov.ae.
The exception remains Dubai, where residents have to apply through the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigner Affairs immigration service.
Mr Naeem, who works as an engineer in Abu Dhabi, paid Dh1,300 for a one-way ticket to Abu Dhabi – a fare that usually costs about Dh900.
But, after his attempts to secure ICA approval to re-enter the UAE was rejected 12 times over the past few months, he said it was a small price to pay.
On Wednesday, he scheduled an appointment at a nearby clinic for his PCR test, as passengers are still required to carry a negative Covid-19 test certificate when entering the Emirates.
“Getting my results in time is the next hurdle,” he said.
“I fly out early on Saturday morning so I just hope I receive good news within the next 48 hours so I can travel as planned.
“Once I land in Abu Dhabi and get adjusted I’ll look at flying my wife out.
Nojeba Haider, who works for a bank in Dubai, said she hoped to return to the Emirates this week.
She went home to Pakistan in July to visit her mother, who was undergoing cancer treatment, and was due to return in early August.
"My mother has stage 4 cancer and the doctor informed me it did not look good so I wanted to see her," she said.
"I flew from Dubai to Karachi with flydubai. No approval permit was required prior to leaving the UAE but I knew it was required for the return journey."
Her application with the ICA was rejected five times but Ms Haider is relieved to know she can now return.
After browsing ticket prices online, she found the flight would cost almost double what she would normally – likely due to high demand from people rushing back to the Emirates.
Teacher Tara McMahon, 22, had unsuccessfully applied for permission to return to the UAE numerous times, after flying home to Ireland at the end of the school year.
“When I saw the news this morning I didn’t know how to feel,” she said.
“There was just a feeling of relief as I had applied numerous times and kept getting rejected.
The rejected applications left her unsure if she could return to her job teaching in Sharjah in time for the new academic year.
“The school tried to help as much as they could but I was still having sleepless nights with anxiety,” said Ms McMahon.
“I didn’t know what the future would hold and if I should start applying for other jobs in the UAE and Ireland."
She is now set to return to the Emirates on Friday.
E B, a 26-year-old resident, has been in the Philippines since March 8.
She was due to travel back to Dubai on April 2 but now hopes to return to Abu Dhabi on August 16.
"I did see the news and it's a big weight off my shoulders after being away for so long," said E B, who has lived in the UAE for four years.
However, she has been struggling to update her data on the new link provided by the ICA.
"I uploaded my personal data several times but I kept getting an alert notification."
On entering her personal details, E B received a message that read: "We will consider the possibility of rescheduling your travel date after 60 days in order to preserve your safety".
"That message is worrying me," she said.
“I don’t know if it will affect my eligibility to travel back to the UAE because I know some people got an approval message straight away."
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
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UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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