Fully vaccinated Emiratis can now travel to most countries and not have to undergo home quarantine on their return.
The decision affects citizens living in Abu Dhabi, which is the only emirate with quarantine rules for arrivals.
It comes into effect on Wednesday, October 27 and allows Emiratis to visit countries that are not on the Abu Dhabi green list without the need to quarantine.
Emiratis who have not been fully vaccinated continue to face restrictions on foreign travel unless they fall into certain categories.
"The move aims to promote the country’s strategy in the recovery phase, enhance the gradual openness in all vital sectors as well as to manage a gradual return to normalcy," state news agency Wam reported, citing the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (Ncema) and the General Civil Aviation Authority.
"The new update allows citizens - who received the full doses of the approved Covid-19 vaccines – to travel.
"Meanwhile, the protocol prohibits travel for citizens who did not receive the full doses of the vaccine, except for the UAE diplomatic missions, patients, as well as humanitarian cases, and those who are studying abroad on scholarships, provided that prior approval is obtained from the official authorities."
Emiratis returning from countries that are not on the Abu Dhabi green list are required to present a valid negative Covid-19 PCR test result with a QR code for a test conducted within 48 hours from the time of departure. They must further present the result of another rapid PCR test that was conducted not more than 6 hours before the departure time at the airport of the destination.
Vaccinated travellers must take a PCR test upon arrival and take two more PCR tests on the fourth and eighth days.
For returning unvaccinated travellers, they must take a PCR test upon arrival, quarantine for 10 days and take another test on the ninth day.
"The protocol also covered a number of departure requirements, including registering in the 'Tawajudi' service and uploading a negative PCR test result valid for 48 hours and the itinerary," Wam added.
If a UAE citizen falls ill when abroad, they should notify the Emirati embassy in that country. People over the age of 70 were advised to avoid all travel as a precaution.
Best of National Geographic photography contest - in pictures
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The Grand Prize winner: 'Iceland' by Andro Loria, a series of images depicting Iceland from the air. All Photos: National Geographic Traveller UK -
Urban category winner: Clara Dip Wan Cheung's 'The Veles e Vents building in Valencia, Spain' is beautifully composed -
Urban category runner up: 'Maha Bandula Garden Street, Yangon, Myanmar' by Joshua Paul Akers is a vertical urban jungle -
Urban category runner up: Vai Meng Chan's shot 'Sunset in Rainham, UK' took months of planning -
People category winner: 'Ice fishing on the frozen sea in Hokkaido, Japan' by Claire Waring -
People category runner up: 'A local boatman in Northern Myanmar, tackling a challenging water channel' by Rajiv Joshi -
Wildlife category winner: Mitchell Lewis's 'A lone rabbit in Richmond Park, London' -
Landscape category winner: 'Marble Hill Beach' by Ozgun Ozdemir is a photo of the coast of Donegal in Ireland on a wild November morning -
Landscape category runner up: Jordan Banks' 'Diamond Beach in Iceland' captures the wildness of the location and magnitude of the ice blocks -
Landscape category runner up: 'Emerald Lake' by Jianbo Jia was taken by drone in the remote Qinghai Province of China -
Food and Travel category winner: Nic Crilly-Hargrave's photo of stallholders with the fresh catch in a market in Veracruz, Mexico -
Food and travel category runner up: 'Cooks craft their famed dim sum in Shanghai's Yu Garden District' by Ian Douglas Scott -
Food and travel category runner up: 'Fresh produce on sale at a market in Urubamba in Peru's sacred valley' by Karolina Wiercigroch -
Wildlife runner up: 'Osprey catching a fish' in Aviemore, Scotland by Hari Kumar Prasannakumar -
People runner up: 'Vietnamese woman in traditional clothing in the imperial city of Hue, Vietnam' by Walter Monticelli -
Wildlife runner up: 'Bumblebee at RHS Garden Wisley' by Dimitrios Zacharopoulos -
Portfolio runner up: 'Sierra Leone' by Renato Granieri shows sustainable oyster farming in a remote part of the African nation -
Portfolio runner up: Jonathon Doyle's 'Australia' captures aftermath of bushfires
Abu Dhabi green list latest
- Albania
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burma
- Burundi
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong (SAR)
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Oman
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Russia
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan, Province of China
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- UK
- USA
- Uzbekistan
