Making travel plans? Complete these prelim checks

Dubai: Making travel plans this summer? Before you begin, there are some basic preliminary checks that you should complete, to ensure hassle-free travel.

The UAE government’s official website – u.ae – provides details on how you should check the validity and type of passport, visa requirements, travel advisories and learn about local laws as a preliminary step before you make your travel plans.

Here are all the travel and immigration checks you should complete before making a travel plan.

1. Check if you have a travel ban

If you have an ongoing court case, police case or have been skipping making regular payments that are due, it is important to first check if you have a travel ban on you. Travel restrictions may be placed by UAE’s authorities on an individual for various reasons.

Before planning your travel, it is advisable to check and solve any issues that might stop you at the airport immigration counters. To find out how you can check for a travel ban, read our detailed guide here.

2. Check the validity and type of passport

Check that your passport is valid and is machine-readable or is an ePassport as some countries call it. Many countries do not accept travellers that do not have a machine-readable passport or ePassport.

If your passport is about to expire, it is important to reach out to your home country’s embassy or consulate for applying for renewal.

3. Check visa requirements

Before you make travel plans, it is best to contact the embassy or consulate of the country you wish to travel to, to find out about visa regulations, application procedures and other related information.

According to u.ae, many countries have outsourced the task of accepting visa applications to a private company called VFS Global.

4. Check travel advisories

According to u.ae, volatile socio-political situations around the world may make leisure travel difficult to certain countries. Travellers should refer to travel warnings published on the website of MOFAIC - https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/travel-updates - to check travel advisories for various countries.

5. Learn about local laws

It is also important to learn about the laws and the customs of the destination country before you travel, as ignorance of the law is not an excuse and you will be liable to legal action if you commit an offence.