New visa rules halt passengers at Hatta

A border checkpoint set up at Hatta recently for the Dubai 2003 meeting has been made permanent. Bus passengers from Oman will not get UAE visit visas at the border and have to apply for them earlier.

Bus company officials said this is affecting their business.

Sources earlier said immigration officials were sending back expatriate bus passengers from Oman arriving through the Hatta border because of lack of visit visas.

"Expatriate residents of Oman should now apply and obtain visas in advance. No visit visas are given at the border except for certain categories of people," he said, adding that the measures have been taken to tighten border checkpoints against illegal entry into the emirates.

"The visa papers will help us keep records of people visiting the UAE."

One border official earlier said: "If anyone is caught entering the UAE illegally, he will be arrested, the passport confiscated and he will be deported."

Earlier, expatriate residents of Oman, travelling to the UAE by bus were given a visa at the UAE border at Hatta. Bus company executives said passengers of 12 buses were returned to Oman last month.

"Bus companies are reluctant to refund passengers," said one source. A Sharjah-based bus transport company executive said that a week before the IMF meetings all buses coming to the UAE from Oman had to return because of visa problems.

Kamal Hassan Mohammed, director of Safeenat Al Sahra Passenger Transport, said: "We were told that our passengers were sent back to Oman from the Hatta border.

He said the company immediately sent buses to take the passengers back to Oman. He said normally the buses come packed with passengers from Oman. "It has hit our business badly." "In addition to the new visa measures, a fee of Dh100 per passenger has been added."

He said his company has informed passengers about the recent measures to avoid being stranded at the border.

Safeenat Al Sahra makes two trips a day at 8am and 6pm.

Recently, it added one more trip leaving at midnight, three times a week both from Oman and the UAE. But the trip from Oman has now been cancelled due to the new measures.

Apply in advance to get visit visas
* Passengers from Oman to UAE have to get visit visas in advance as issuing of visas at Hatta border is restricted.

* "Expatriate residents of Oman should now apply and obtain visas in advance. No visit visas are given at the border except for certain categories of people."

* A fee of Dh100 per passenger has also been added.

* New measures to help tighten border security. Visa papers will help in tracking people visiting UAE.

* Bus companies hit by the new rule. Passengers of 12 buses were returned to Oman from the Hatta border. Bus services from Oman has been suspended due to the new rules.