By Xinhua
Abu Dhabi : The immigration authorities of Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate of the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE), has put restrictions on visit visas in a bid to curb illegal immigration, a local daily reported Thursday.
“The Abu Dhabi Naturalization and Residency Department (ADNRD) allows issuing of visit visas only for immediate relatives, such as parents, brothers, sisters, wives and children,” the department’s director Nassir Al Awadi Al Minhali said.
Under the new visa rules, residents of Abu Dhabi can no longer bring their friends and workers to the emirate.
ADNRD will not issue visit visas for companies that are allowed to obtain only employment visas after getting temporary mission permits from the ministry of labour.
A study by the UAE ministry of interior showed that about 25 percent of the illegal migrants entered the UAE on visit visas.