By- Radio ML
The Director General of Identity and Citizenship in the UAE stated that the United Arab Emirates granted 52,000 visas to Tunisians last year (2024), confirming that the rejection rate did not exceed 6%. A report by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which came in response to a written question by two members of the House of Representatives regarding the results of the Foreign Minister's visit to the UAE last February, conveyed the clarifications of the UAE official during the visit, stating that one of the reasons for visa rejections for Tunisians was "incorrect data entry when submitting the application." The Director General of Identity and Citizenship in the UAE expressed his readiness to cooperate with the concerned Tunisian authorities to address the "emerging difficulties" regarding visa issuance for Tunisians. He promised to pay special attention to this issue and coordinate with both the Tunisian mission in Abu Dhabi and the UAE Embassy in Tunisia. According to data provided by the UAE official, the number of Tunisians in the UAE exceeded 29,000. The meetings between the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, Mohamed Ali Al-Nafti, and UAE officials discussed "the difficulties that Tunisians have recently faced in obtaining entry visas to the UAE," expressing hope that the UAE authorities would work to overcome these difficulties. The UAE side explained that "some of the recent difficulties in granting entry visas to the UAE are not targeting Tunisians, but are part of a set of temporary measures related to addressing the phenomenon of increasing illegal residence by some foreign nationals."