Travel agents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai report that UAE visa extensions without exiting the country have been stopped.

During a recent interview with Khaleej Times, a Dubai-based travel agent said, "We have been informed by the immigration department that visit visa extensions without exiting the country have been stopped. Usually, they would have been inside-country visas, so they did not have to leave the country."

Originally, there was no need to leave the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but now that has changed. This is the information we received from immigration."

Members of the community discussed the development in Facebook groups and on other social media platforms.

The condition to exit the country for visa renewal was a standard procedure pre-pandemic, according to an Abu Dhabi-based travel agent.

Renewals and extensions of visit visas have been suspended inside the country. You should exit the country and then apply. This is similar to the norms followed in pre-pandemic days. We are now back to normalcy, and hence the relaxation has been revoked."

The process is showing an error, and applications are being rejected, according to another travel agent from Dubai.

He said that visa applications are awaiting official confirmation. Last month, the immigration department reduced the 90-day visa to 60 days.