UAE adds Sri Lanka to travel curbs list
The United Arab Emirates will bar entry to non-UAE resident travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, it said today.
The UAE last month banned entry to travellers from India to guard against the spread of the highly contagious Indian variant.
“Flights between the four countries will continue to allow the transport of passengers from the UAE to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka,” the Gulf state’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) said.
The ban includes transit flights coming from those countries. Transit flights to those countries can continue.
UAE citizens, long-term residency holders – known as “golden visa” holders – and diplomats are not included in the ban, which comes just ahead of the Eid festival celebrating the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
To enter the UAE from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, NCEMA said.
(Reuters)
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka-Japan defence ties strengthened at high-level meeting in Tokyo March 21, 2026
- Four arrested in coordinated fuel raids across Western Province March 21, 2026
- Eid-ul-Fitr calls for unity, compassion and hope amid global challenges – President March 21, 2026
- Sri Lanka reaffirms neutrality amid global crisis, moves to secure energy supply March 20, 2026
- IMF warns: Sri Lanka recovery strong but risks rising over Middle East crisis March 20, 2026
