DUBAI // UAE citizens may be able to travel to Europe without a visa from this spring – almost a year after the European Parliament voted in favour of waiving Schengen visa requirements for Emiratis.
“Emiratis will be the first and the UAE will be the first Arab country to have the visa waiver in the Schengen countries.
“The latest information we have from Brussels is that it may be possible by the spring time,” said Giorgio Starace, Italian ambassador to the UAE.
“Most procedures have been completed and the process should be completed soon.”
He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting about the Milan Expo 2015 on Sunday – the inaugural day of the Gulfood show.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, pushed to get the waiver, said Mr Starace.
He said: “Italy was one of the countries that pushed for the UAE in Brussels.
“The UAE is a strategic partner of Italy both politically and economically, and this waiver will very much help increase the flow of Emiratis to Europe, and not just Italy.” Mr Starace could not specify a date for visa-free travel to start.
“It’s in the hands of Brussels, but we hope it will be in the spring,” he said.
“We hope more UAE citizens will visit and we [Italy] will be the first to take advantage of the visa waiver.”
The Milan Expo runs for six months from May.
More than 35,000 visas for Italy were issued last year from Dubai, and 12,000 from Abu Dhabi. These include UAE citizens and expatriates.
In February last year, 523 of the 577 members of the European Parliament voted to allow visa free travel for UAE citizens.
The Schengen Area consists of 26 states, including 22 of the 28 European Union member countries. They are Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Sweden.
The United Kingdom granted visa free travel to Emiratis in November 2013.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
