Dubai: On August 28, UAE authorities announced the opening of tourist visas to vaccinated people from all countries. The National Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) said that tourist visa applications will be open to people from all countries, provided that they are fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), starting from August 30.
A Gulf News reader, however, wrote in enquiring about the status of those applicants who have received the Sputnik V vaccine.
He said: “Is it possible to travel to the UAE on a tourist visa if someone is fully vaccinated with Sputnik V from India? The vaccine is approved in the UAE but not by WHO. Please update the status of this issue at the earliest.”
Gulf News raised the query with the ICA, who provided the following response:
“Thank you for your concern. Please note that only vaccines certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) are accepted.”
Which vaccines has WHO approved?
As reported earlier WHO has approved the following vaccines for emergency use:
• AstraZeneca
• Pfizer
• Janssen
• Moderna
• AstraZeneca/CoviShield
• AstraZeneca/AZD1222 (manufactured by the SII and SK Bio)
• Sinopharm
• Sinovac
