As the suspension of passenger entry from Uganda, Zambia and DR Congo start to hit hard the labor externalization business in Uganda. The Emirates has been a major destination for Ugandan emigrant workers.
The ban was announced by UAE authorities on Wednesday this week due to increased COVID19 cases in the three countries. In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni announced a partial lockdown after the country registered an increased number of COVID19 cases and death.
Speaking to DailyExpress after learning about the ban, A senior manager at Premier Recruitment Limited, a subsidiary of Ruparelia Group, noted that the ban by UAE is not good ‘at all’ and revealed that they “need to concentrate on Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The company has been conducting interviews for candidates who desired to work at Dubai Airport. But with the ban which commences on 11th June 2021, in place, it looks like these plans have to be put on hold.
Similarly, hundreds of girls had been scheduled to travel to Dubai to work as maids.
On Tuesday this week, Premier Recruitment Limited dispatched 42 Ugandans to work as Cleaners and Baggage Handlers in Qatar and many more were expected to depart in the coming days.
They are over 400, 000 Ugandans working in the UAE as housemaids, security personnel, casual labours, transporters and other menial jobs. This number continues to grow as demand for such workers continues.
The UAE didn’t provide a date when it will lift the ban or review it, however, according to Khaleej Times, the UAE exempted some people from the three countries from these COVID19 preventing measures.
The exempted groups include UAE citizens and their first-degree relatives and accredited diplomatic missions between the UAE and the three countries.
Also exempted are official delegations and businessmen (provided they obtain prior approval), holders of golden and silver residency, people with essential jobs according to the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), and crews of foreign freight and transit flights.
The required PCR testing period prior to travel has been reduced from 72 to 48 hours, and all tests must be administered by accredited laboratories that issue results carrying a QR code.
The excluded groups must follow all preventive measures, which include a 10-day quarantine, a PCR test at the airport, and PCR tests on day 4 and day 8 after entering the country.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed that travellers coming from the three countries through other countries are required to provide proof of a period of stay in those countries of no less than 14 days in order to be allowed to enter the UAE.
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