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Golden visa holders will be able to return to the country during the recent Eid al-Fitr.
The 10-year golden visa proved to be the lifeline of a Pakistani doctor. He and his family of four took a nearly empty 300-seat Boeing 777 Gulf Air plane from Karachi to Dubai, just in time for Eid al-Fitr Eid al Adha.
Dr. Syed Nadir, Medical Director and Director of Internal Medicine at Adam Vital Hospital in Dubai, rushed to Karachi in the first week of June to visit his sick mother because she will undergo emergency bypass surgery.
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“The golden visa gives us the confidence to fly back to my home country Pakistan to visit my sick mother during the suspension of the flight. Many of my doctor friends are trapped in Pakistan due to restrictions, but without the golden visa, it is just a waiting game for them. .
“Because I know that no other doctor is using a golden visa to travel to Dubai from Karachi, my wife and I are worried about whether we should take the risk. Because of my mother’s surgery, we decided to continue — we are glad we did.
Since the suspension of scheduled passenger flights from Pakistan in May, Dr. Nadir, his wife and three children are among the first Golden Visa holders to fly back to the UAE from Karachi.
He traveled in business class on a Gulf Air plane, even though he only paid AED 2,000 per ticket for economy class seats on a one-way flight from Karachi to Dubai.
In addition to Dr. Nadir’s family, the flight also has two medical staff, bringing the total number of passengers to seven.
“Because of the privileges and honor granted to us by the UAE government in the form of golden visas, we took the risk and it paid off,” said his wife, Dr. Rabyhan, who is a breast and general surgeon at Mediclinic City Hospital It is accompanied by their three 3-6 year old children.
Dr. Nadir told Khaleej Times that although the seven passengers were allowed to choose seats on the 300-seater plane, they were not allowed to move to other seats after the plane took off.
The family of doctors who flew to Karachi at the end of June returned to Dubai on July 20 during Eid al-Fitr.
Dr. Nadir called it a lifetime experience. He said: “This wonderful trip from Karachi to Dubai shows the strength of the UAE authorities and the privilege of VIP treatment for me and my family due to our golden visa status.”
In explaining the challenging part of the trip, Dr. Nadir said: “Due to the suspension of flights, few flights are in operation, so it is difficult to buy air tickets from Pakistan to the UAE. The second challenge is that due to restrictions on 5 After taking effect on the 12th, no passengers flew from Karachi to Dubai. The Pakistani authorities are a bit uncertain about the procedure. Even after all online approvals, our final approval for boarding must be done at the Karachi International Airport check-in. We have been in a state of tension.”
Dr. Nadir added that at the check-in counter at Karachi Airport, the airline staff will make a final call to the Dubai Immigration Department to reconfirm whether the passenger holds a golden visa and whether he or she can be allowed to board the plane. Passengers can board the plane only after final approval by the UAE authorities.
How to book a flight from home country to UAE for golden visa holders
When explaining the process of returning to the UAE from restricted countries using the Golden Visa, Dr. Nadir said that it is difficult to travel to the UAE from a country on the Covid Red List, but the Golden Visa makes the process easy.
“Since there are only a few flights operating between Pakistan and the UAE, I first checked which airlines are available. I found that Emirates, Gulf Air and PIA are all available, so I wrote an email to these three airlines , Which contains my golden visa details, passport details, and the GDRFA approval I obtained, and asked them to help me return to the UAE.”
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Of the three, Dr. Nadir said that Gulf Air was the first to resume (about four days later), listing their flight schedules so that he could choose the date and time of his choice. Then he continues to choose his date, and the airline sends him his ticket after he pays online.
He pointed out that the last step was at Karachi Airport, when the authorities called their counterparts at the Dubai Immigration Bureau for final approval.
Dr. Nadir said that other than that, all other Covid agreements are the same as previously stipulated. These include valid PCR testing within 48 hours after boarding, and filling out a compulsory quarantine consent form to prevent passengers from testing positive.
Dr. Nadir added that the procedures at Dubai International Airport are a breeze. He and his family were able to leave the airport and return home in less than an hour after landing. “Even before we went home from the airport, we got the PCR test results from Dubai Airport, which surprised me!” He exclaimed.
saman@khalejtimes.com
Saman Hazik
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