Abu Dhabi: The UAE has announced the approval of COVID-19 vaccination certificates issued abroad, allowing passengers with approved vaccines to smoothly complete their travel procedures as of August 15.
The policy on approving the foreign vaccination certificates was announced by Brigadier Khamis Al Kaabi, official spokesman for the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, during the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority’s weekly media briefing on Tuesday.
As per the protocol, only approved vaccines will be accepted in the UAE and will appear on the Al Hosn App. The policy aims to ensure the safe entry of travellers, who are requested to register their data using ICA UAE smart app or by visiting smartservices.ica.gov.ae.
The vaccination certificates registration is optional for passengers wishing to enjoy the benefits of being fully vaccinated by vaccines approved in the UAE
Dr Noura Al Ghaithi, acting CEO of external therapeutic services at Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), highlighted the update of some technical features of the Al Hosn app.
“The new update provides travel information, the status of arrivals or departures from red-flagged countries with an indication of the day of arrival, in addition to the vaccine information. A page of the official vaccination certificates and COVID-19 test certificates stamped by the Ministry of Health and Prevention has been added,” she said.
Dr Al Ghaithi said the QR code in the application can be read directly from the phone's camera or the built-in scanner in the application.
If the Al Hosn application is not available on the scanner phone, users will be transferred to the Al Hosn web page, and the last 4 digits of the Emirates ID number, the unified number or the passport number will be requested, she said.
The application is characterised by three colours; if the colour of the application for the user is green, it means that the negative test is effective, while the grey colour indicates that the test is ineffective. If the application is in red, it means that the user is positive for the virus, Dr Al Ghaith added.
