The United Arab Emirates has lifted travel ban on Nigeria, India and South Africa.
A message from the Dubai Media Office headed by HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai announced updates to Dubai’s travel protocols for inbound passengers from South Africa, Nigeria and India, effective from Wednesday 23 June, 2021.
According to the message, as part of easing inbound travel restrictions, passengers from Nigeria are expected to have received a negative test result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure, while UAE citizens are exempted.
Passengers are also expected to present a negative PCR test certificate with a OR code from laboratories approved by the Nigerian government.
All passengers must undergo a PCR test on arrival at Dubai airport, while transit passengers should comply with entry protocols f final destinations.
For passengers from India, the new travel by Dubai shows that residents should have received two doses if vaccine approved by UAE authorities.
Apart from the requirements for Nigerian passengers, those from India are expected to take a rapid PCR test 4 hours prior to flight departure and to undergo a PCR test on arrival at Dubai airport.
Only QR coded PCR test result certificate are accepted and passengers are to undergo institutional quarantine until they receive their PCR test results which is expected within 24 hours while UAE citizens and diplomats are exempted.
For South Africa passengers, they should have received two doses of a vaccine approved by UAE authorities and passengers must present a negative test results for PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure, UAE citizens are exempted.
All passengers must undergo a PCR test in arrival at Dubai airport and transit passengers should comply with entry protocols at final destinations.
On February 1, 2021, Emirates Airline had directed that Nigerian travellers at the Lagos and Abuja airports must conduct rapid COVID-19 tests before departure. This led to a ban on Emirates flights in Nigeria.
The ban was lifted after the airline agreed to stop the rapid antigen tests.
But the federal government reintroduced the ban on March 15, explaining that Emirates had continued to conduct rapid antigen tests for passengers before departure from Nigeria.
On March 25, 2021, the UAE embassy in Abuja announced a new COVID-19 travel protocols for Nigeria as measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the country, passengers who have been in or transited through South Africa or Nigeria in the last 14 days before travelling to Dubai were barred from entering Dubai.