Struggling with Dubai visa approval? Here's why Indian tourists are facing rejection amid ongoing shopping festival

Indian passport holders planning to visit Dubai are experiencing difficulties in the wake of significant visa application rejections following stricter United Arab Emirates (UAE) tourist visa regulations. According to Times of India report, as much as 99 per cent of the visa applications used to get approved earlier have. However, with stringent requirements the number has drastically fallen.

Indian travellers wanting to visit the Gulf city have to now go through vigorous screening with higher probability of their application being rejected even after well-prepared documents are submitted.

UAE's new visa rules require that tourists must present documents confirming their hotel bookings details and return tickets. Proof of accommodation needs to be submitted for those deciding to stay with their relatives. Director of Passio Travels Pvt Ltd, Nikhil Kumar said, “Even when confirmed flight tickets and hotel stay details are attached, the visa applications are being rejected,” ToI reported.

He added, "In cases where travellers are staying with relatives in Dubai and we attach mandatory documents like the host's rental agreement, Emirates ID, residence visa copy and contact details, visas are getting rejected. In all of these cases, the clients have already paid for confirmed flight tickets and hotel bookings," Kumar added.

As per the report, the visa rejection rate has risen to over 5-6 per cent rejections each day from nearly 100 applications daily which was previously stood around 1-2 per cent. In the backdrop of a surge in visa rejections, travellers suffer financial losses and are losing money not just on visa fees, but also on pre-booked flight tickets and hotel bookings.

This development comes at a time Dubai Shopping Festival is going on. During this time hotel rooms are available at premium prices. Hasmukh Travels' director Vijay Thakkar said that two of his passengers were planning to stay with their relatives in Dubai. However, their trip went off the rails after their visa applications were rejected even though they submitted all the relevant documents as per the new visa requirements. Adding to their woes was the financial loss they suffered.

"This resulted in significant monetary loss for the passengers, as they had spent nearly ₹14,000 on visa fees, and ticket cancellation cost was another ₹20,000 and more," the media outlet quoted Vijay Thakkar as saying.