UAE travel: family reunion in India due to humanitarian exemption-News

Thanks to the humanitarian travel exemption introduced by the UAE authorities for residents stranded abroad, the Joseph family gathered together on Sunday evening.

Sajeev Joseph, Sales Director of Flora Hotels, told Khaleej Times that his family, including his wife Sheena and son Amal, went to India on March 24 for vacation. The family has been trapped in Kerala since April 24, after the UAE announced the suspension of inbound tourists from multiple destinations, including India, to curb the spread of the delta variant.

Joseph’s wife and son finally arrived in the UAE on an Arab Airlines flight from Kochi on Sunday. On Monday, the family took Khaleej Times through their ordeal. “My eldest daughter, Anjali, is continuing her studies in Kerala. Although we enjoy the first few days of the holiday; technically, we have been stranded in India since April 24. We cannot return before the border is closed,” Joseph Say.

Desperately returning to his work, Joseph returned to the UAE via Armenia a month ago. “Although I do want to bring my family, the third country isolation route is expensive. I can only afford the travel expenses of one person,” he added.

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Hina, who runs a travel business, decided to stay with the couple’s son Amal, who is a 12th grade student in our own English high school in Sharjah. “My son is in his last year of school this year. In any case, we must return,” Joseph said.

The couple said: “We have been doing everything possible to get us back.” Last week, when the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced that they had been fully vaccinated from “red-listed countries” When the holders of the residence visa can return to the country, the family feels extremely relieved.

“Unfortunately for us, my wife did not receive two doses of the vaccine from the UAE. She received the jab in India (Covishield). We felt hopeless again until the travel agency that worked closely with us informed us that we can restore humanity Doctrine exemption,” he added.

How did the Josephs apply for exemption?

Joseph has been a UAE resident for more than 18 years. He said: “We have a Dubai residence visa. I contacted Arooha Travel Agency for support and they took us through the application process.”

As there is no formal application procedure for the GDRFA mobile app or website, Sheena said: “The agency has updated our details in the’Traveler Arrival’ section of the Federal Agency for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) )” After that, Amal and Sheena applied for GDRFA entry permit online and received it.

“We performed the RT-PCR test and went to the airport. At the check-in counter at Cochin International Airport (CIAL), we explained to officials that we wanted a humanitarian exemption,” Sheena said. The family provided a copy of their sponsor’s (Joseph) passport and UAE ID as proof. The couple was allowed to board the plane after completing a four-hour rapid PCR test. “The price of each ticket is 1,250 dirhams, which is much cheaper than what we would spend when traveling from Armenia,” Joseph said.

Rashid Abbas, Managing Director of Arooha Travels, said: “The service is relatively simple and easy to access. Many people who wish to travel do not understand the process that needs to be followed. Like Joseph, we also helped another family.”

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

Danusha Gukulan

Dhanusha Gokulan is from India and has been working as a journalist for more than ten years. For Khaleej Times, she reports on NRI affairs, civil aviation and immigration issues. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism, economics and English literature from Mangalore University in 2008, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in contemporary media leadership and innovation at the American University in Dubai. In her spare time, she gets involved in singing/song writing, loves food, and is the mother of an over-enthusiastic Labrador Retriever. On her Twitter @shootsprintrite.