Canada to Lift Visa Requirement for UAE Citizens

The Government of Canada announced today that citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will no longer require a temporary resident visa (commonly referred to as a visitor visa) to enter Canada from 5:30 a.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. GST on June 5, 2018 (next week!).

After this date, UAE citizens wanting to fly to Canada will require an electronic travel authorization (eTA) unless they already have a valid temporary resident visa which they may continue to use until it expires.

It is currently taking approximately 20 weeks for initial work permit applications to be processed at the Canadian Visa Office in the UAE. However, as soon as the visa requirement is lifted, UAE citizens should be eligible to apply for a work permit at a Canadian port-of-entry (e.g. international airport, land crossing, etc.). Therefore, this should be a welcomed change for Canadian employers wanting to hire UAE citizens.