Pakistan, UAE agree on pre-immigration clearance to ease travel

A “pre-immigration clearance agreement” between the UAE and the Pakistani government has been agreed to be signed, according to the statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Interior.

Upon signing of this agreement, Pakistani citizens will be able to avoid prolonged immigration procedures when entering the UAE.

This was decided in a meeting involving the Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, and a UAE delegation, led by the Director General of Customs and Port Security, Ahmed Bin Lahij Al Falasi, according to the press release.

"The immigration formalities of the passengers will be taken care of in Pakistan itself," Naqvi was quoted as saying.

He said that with the launch of the system, Pakistani citizens will have the ability to bypass the immigration process once they arrive in the UAE.

“They will be able to leave the airport directly, like other nationals,” Naqvi explained.

The interior minister elaborated that this project would be started as a pilot, where the first phase would begin in Karachi. He did not say anything about the timeline for the initiation of the pilot project.

Naqvi expressed hope that the new scheme would help to "facilitate travel and offer a better travel experience".