UAE recognizes jabs in India, allows travel

Kolkata: Many Indians working and living in the UAE who have been stranded in Kolkata when travel to the Emirates was suspended in April were relieved on Monday when the authorities there agreed to recognise vaccination in India and permitted them to fly. Till Sunday, only those who had taken the two vaccine shots in the UAE were allowed to fly to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other cities in the UAE.

“UAE’s National Emergency & Crisis Management Authority has informed that passengers who have taken both doses of either Covishield or Covaxin in India to fly back if they have residency permits. The only requirement is that they should have completed the vaccination at least 14 days prior to travel.

This will be a huge help to several hundreds of people who had come to Kolkata and other cities in the east on either business or family visit in March and early April and had then got stranded after the UAE put India on the red list and prohibited Indians from travelling to the Emirates to stop the spread of the Delta variant of Covid,” Travel Agents’ Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi told TOI.

The decision by the UAE authorities ends a confusion over vaccines. Several of those who had been stranded here had taken the vaccine in India. Others who are yet to take the shots will now take them so that they are eligible to fly back and rejoin work.

Passengers will have to undergo an RT-PCR test within 48 hours prior to travel and a rapid PCR within 4 hours before leaving. On arrival in Dubai, they will again have to undergo an RT-PCR test.

Those transiting Dubai have different criteria. There is no requirement for vaccination. They will just have to get an RT-PCR done from an authorized lab within 72 hours prior to travel and furnish a document that contains an entry permit or visa from the final destination country. This will enable businessmen as well as students to fly to Europe, the US or any other destination.

Many also view the relaxation as a precursor to opening up of borders for fully vaccinated Indians to travel to Dubai after meeting Covid protocols. Dubai will host the World Expo 2021 this October and Indians are expected to turn up at the event in large numbers.