Looks like Canadian crooner Bryan Adams can still just zip into the UAE.
His December 17 concert in Dubai will not be affected by the new visa rules that will come in to affect from January 2, requiring citizens of Canada to apply for visa to visit or work in the UAE.
However, for fellow singer Celine Dion, who has a lifetime family membership at the Four Seasons Golf Club in Dubai, teeing off at our local green would require a visa red tape route in future.
“This is the first I’m hearing about this change in visa rule,” came the surprised response from Jean Marc, a Canadian who’s been a resident of the UAE for five years. “I am going to call the Canadian Embassy to get all the details".
He might find that a tad difficult, considering repeated calls to both, the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Canadian consulate in Dubai, bore no fruit for Emirates 24|7, with an automated voiceover directing queries to its website.
The website, however, provided an update that stated: “As of January 2, 2011 a visa will be required for tourism and business purposes. Canadians planning to travel to the UAE after this date should contact an Embassy of the UAE for details on how to obtain a visa.
“All diplomatic and special passport holders must obtain their visa before travelling to the UAE.
“Foreigners planning to work or reside in the UAE must undergo medical tests including for HIV. Those found to be HIV positive will be immediately deported by the UAE authorities. HIV certificates issued by foreign medical authorities are not accepted".
A call to the Foreign Affairs’ office in Canada had us directed back to the Canadian Embassy in the UAE.
While no official figures were available from the local Canadian Embassy, according to the Club for Canadians in Dubai, a volunteer run social organisation for its citizens in the UAE, there are over 22,000 Canadians in the UAE and over 8,000 in Dubai.
The club also states there are over 800 Canadian businesses in Dubai alone and many more across the UAE. The Club for Canadians has been active for over 13 years locally.
Unofficial estimates put the total number of Canadians here at 20,000.
The news announcement for the change in visa rules came Monday, as per the UAE Embassy in Ottawa.
In an email statement to AFP, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon’s spokesman Jacques Labrie said: “All sovereign states have the right to decide the entry requirements for visitors to their countries".
While more clarity on the how this new visa change will affect Canadians who have been residing in the UAE for generations, Martha Carey, a teacher here said: “I guess all this means is that our preferred status of passing through without paying a fil has been taken away. I’m sure we will moan and groan for a few months and then get on with it. Isn’t that how it always happens?”
Emirates 24|7
