Pakistani travellers have started receiving UAE visit visas through registered travel agents after months of uncertainty that disrupted travel to the Gulf country.

The development was confirmed by travel industry representatives and a UAE embassy official, who said family applications and those submitted through authorised travel agencies were now being processed more smoothly, according to a report by Arab News.

The UAE hosts around 1.8 million Pakistanis and is one of the country’s largest sources of workers’ remittances.

Although both Islamabad and Abu Dhabi had consistently maintained there was no official visa ban on Pakistani nationals, applicants had reported lengthy delays and increased scrutiny in recent months.

Muhammad Nadeem Sharif, chief executive of Aroma Travels and former chairman of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP), said visa issuance for tourists travelling with their families had resumed.

He said applications from families and Pakistanis visiting relatives already residing in the UAE were now receiving timely responses.

According to Sharif, tourism promotion campaigns have also resumed, while passenger traffic has gradually recovered after declining during recent regional tensions.

A senior Pakistani immigration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the number of passengers travelling daily from Pakistan to Dubai had increased from around 170 earlier this summer to approximately 400 by the end of July.

However, the official noted that the figure remained significantly lower than the nearly 1,000 daily passengers recorded two years ago.

TAAP office-bearer Muhammad Hanif Rinch also said the situation had improved in recent days, with more Pakistani families successfully obtaining visit visas after years of high rejection rates, particularly for individual applicants.

A UAE embassy official in Islamabad also confirmed that visit visas were being issued to holders of ordinary Pakistani passports applying through registered travel agencies.

The official, who requested anonymity, said earlier processing delays had been linked to safety and security considerations but added that applicants with complete documentation could now apply without difficulty.

The easing follows months of concern over visa processing for Pakistani nationals.

In April last year, Pakistan and the UAE agreed to take steps to facilitate visa issuance during a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Emirati counterpart.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office later informed parliament that stricter scrutiny had been introduced after some applicants submitted forged educational and employment documents, while others faced legal action in the UAE over unauthorised political activities, criminal offences or misuse of social media, prompting tighter background checks and documentation requirements.