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UAE lifts travel ban on Nigeria, Uganda, four others

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted the travel ban on passengers from Nigeria and five other countries.

The National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority, which disclosed this in a statement on its Twitter handle on Tuesday, however, said the directive would take effect from August 5.

The other affected countries are India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.

The UAE authorities had on June 21 imposed a fresh ban on Nigerian travellers over a disagreement with the Federal Government on the C0VID-19 tests regime.

The Middle East nation imposed the ban just 48 hours after lifting the initial ban on Nigerian flights from entering the country.

NCEMA said passengers would be allowed to transit through the UAE airports as long as they present negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests taken 72 hours before departure.

READ ALSO: Nigerian govt rolls out new conditions for intending travellers to UAE

The statement read: “Travel for transit passengers from all countries from which transit passengers have been suspended will be resumed in advance provided that the passenger’s last destination is accepted with a laboratory check-up within 72 hours of departure and state airports will allocate special lounges for transit passengers.

“Emergencies, crises and civil aviation announce the exclusion of new categories of passengers from some of the banned countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria and Uganda, as of August 5.

“These categories include those with valid residency permits who have received full vaccination doses in the UAE and 14 days have passed since receiving the second dose and who have vaccination certificates approved by the official authorities in the country.

“Medical personnel working in the country will be excluded; including doctors, nurses, technicians from restaurants and non-restaurants, and those working in the educational sector in the country who teach in universities, colleges, schools and institutes; from the vaccinated and non-vaccinated categories.

“Students studying in the country, humanitarian cases who hold valid residency and workers in federal and local government agencies, and cases of completing treatment in the country, whether they are vaccinated or not, will also be excluded.

“All these categories will be required to submit a request on the website of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship to obtain the necessary approvals in addition to the certificates of vaccination certified by the relevant authorities in the country for the categories from which these certificates are required.

“The excluded groups will be obligated to submit a prior PCR test within 48 hours from the date of departure, provided that the tests are from accredited laboratories carrying a QR Code, and conduct a quick laboratory test before boarding the plane.”

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