UAE reinstates visa-free entry for Ukrainian citizens

The UAE has reinstated the visa-free entry of all Ukrainian citizens arriving into the country from March 3.

Ukrainian citizens who arrive in the UAE before March 3 can continue to stay for a period of up to a year without having to pay any fines, while those who arrive after March 3 can only stay for 30 days.

In an update on its Facebook page, the Embassy of Ukraine in the UAE said that according to the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), the memorandum of understanding between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (CMU) and the UAE Government on mutual cancellation of visa requirements has been restored.

As many as 4 million people could seek refuge in other countries “in the coming weeks” as the crisis in Ukraine grows increasingly dire, a United Nations official said.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, offered the estimate in a Security Council meeting on February 28. The figure represents a 300 per cent increase from earlier EU estimates that 1 million people could flee Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion. For a country of about 44 million people, that would mean a departure of about 9 per cent of its population.

The commissioner said Tuesday that some 677,000 people have left Ukraine so far. Leaders in Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have indicated that they are prepared for an influx.

Airbnb on Monday said it would provide free short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees. The company said in a statement that it had offered its assistance to leaders in Poland, Romania, Germany and Hungary.

With inputs from Bloomberg