Good news for Canadians in UAE

[Rather Be Skiing]

Relations seem to be moving in a positive direction. Could more flights to Canada be on the way?

http://gulfnews.com/business/general/canada-uae-to-restore-visa-regime-1.1166035

[jeff748]

Canadian visitors to U.A.E. no longer need visas - Politics - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/04/02/pol-cp-baird-emirates.html)

[ExXB]

Does anyone know the effective date for this? Globe&Mail, etc just mention that it will end, but not when.

Thanks!

PS I have flights booked for mid-May.

[Airmann]

But does this mean that we can now enter for free or is there a fee like in other GCC countries.

[fatbus]

news on the radio said 1 May 2013 . Assume it's free, but will be issued on arrival.

[CAYNINE]

Nothing mentioned in any article about freeing up access to Canada for ME airlines... which is what caused the dummy spit in the first place.

[ExXB]

Has there been any update on this? The UAE gov't web-site still shows visas required for Canadians.

Hotel is telling me they need to request visa 30 days in advance and I'm arriving 8 May. If I pay the hotel for the visa I doubt there will be any refund if rules change 1 May.

:ok:

[dubaibound]

I visited Dubai last week. I ordered my visa on line at https://www.dubaivisaservice.com/index.php. They charged $170 Canadian and emailed me the visa in 2 days. I had a Subload ticket.
You have enough time to wait until 1 May and see if the agreement takes hold.

[ExXB]

This has been posted to the UAE's Ottawa embassy's web-site:

** Important Notes

Please kindly know that the new UAE visa regulations for Canadian passport holders is in process, and therefore a VISA for the UAE is still required for Canadian passport holders. The embassy of the United Arab Emirates will update the information on this website when any visa requirement change occurs.

Not sure when this was posted but it was there Wed 1 May 2013.

[777AV8R]

I traveled on business on 01 May and had to purchase visa on arrival from the money exchange desk. Dhm185.

[jeff748]

Still nothing.
Daughter arrived in DXB on April 30th without a visa in her new passport (other one lost while travelling) and I had to make some fairly quick moves to get her in. Three hours for a temp visa and 1.5 working days to replace her residence visa. No one knows anything about a change in policy at the UAE Immigration Dept. No one.

Voice your displeasure here:

John Baird, Minister of External Affairs
Contact John | John Baird (http://johnbaird.com/constituents/contact-john/)
[email protected]

Or go the other way:
Paul Dewar, NDP External Affairs Critic
Paul Dewar | Ottawa Centre | NDP-NPD (http://www.pauldewarmp.ca)
[email protected]

[Panama Jack]

There is a third and more direct way, jeff748.

Since it is the UAE Government which sets UAE Visa requirements, why don't you write them and rip them a new 'hole? :rolleyes:

[jeff748]

Because they know SFA about anything to do with that policy, that's why.

[clunckdriver]

Caynine, either you are suffering memory loss or selective recall syndrome, the original "spat" was started by the actions of the UAE failing to honour their agreaments re our military using agreed upon facilities for our transport aircraft,{ dont belive the official sequence put out by the UAE by the way} and no, you wont be getting any more flights into Canada, that is untill the ME finally implodes and you will all re - discover your Canadian passports and come rushing back.

[Rather Be Skiing]

Caynine, either you are suffering memory loss or selective recall syndrome, the original "spat" was started by the actions of the UAE failing to honour their agreaments re our military using agreed upon facilities for our transport aircraft,{ dont belive the official sequence put out by the UAE by the way} and no, you wont be getting any more flights into Canada, that is untill the ME finally implodes and you will all re - discover your Canadian passports and come rushing back.

Oh please! What a load of rubbish!

What exactly would I be rushing back to? A minimum wage pilot position with AC? Soon enough the Harper government will include pilots in their brilliant foreign worker policy. Then you'll be rushing off to India!

[clunckdriver]

Rather be Sking, again there seems to be a time lag in news getting to parts of this "conected" world, in fact" Scum Wing "and other outfits have already taken advantage of the loopholes in the foreign worker program, the door was shut on such abuses {we hope} by the Government of Canada last week,{ by the way, its the Goverment of Canada, not as the CBC insist, the Harper Government} lets see how effective it is! The public finnaly woke up when the Royal Bank were caught cheating the system, amazing, Joe Public will fly in an aircraft crewed by some less than steller pilots to save five bucks on their al inclusive drinking vacation in Cuba, but revolt over their money going into a bank who was using the same deceptive practises as the charter industry.Having said this there can be little doubt in the minds of those whos job it is to watch the ME that it will implode, when? not sure but it will, well can I remember sitting with an MEA crew who had no clue what was coming at them on their return to their base, but if you want to ignore the obvious truth, good luck to you and your kin, I hope you get out OK when it implodes.

[nolimitholdem]

clunckdriver,

I agree with what you post almost completely, but you are mistaken to refer to the foreign Sunwing/CanJet pilots as "less than stellar". There is absolutely nothing sub-standard about their abilities or experience, to make statements like that is just fear-mongering, not to mention insulting. Perhaps you are referring to the fact that several of the pilots forced to relocate to temporary basings in Canada failed their check rides, but what you may not know is that the tactic was deliberate as the pilots didn't WANT the basings, they were forced by their employer on threat of termination, and not qualifying for the Canadian license validation was their only recourse. The company quickly clamped down on the tactic and threatened termination for failing a ride (!!). Problem solved. In addition, the pilots are not even receiving the full compensation package from Travel Services that the Canadian companies are paying. In other words, the foreign pilots are as much victims as the Canadian pilots not getting the jobs. Most of them have as little desire to be working in Canada as our pilots want them to be there. The true "sub-standard" companies are Travel Services, Sunwing, and CanJet. But the safety of the travelling public is not at risk.

If you need to assign blame, take direct aim at the TFW policies and the companies that exploit them, not the employees.

As far as the UAE visa issue, I agree it seems to be something to take up on the UAE side, as they are the ones with the requirement....?

[clunckdriver]

Nolimitholdthem, I was flying the day that a Scum Wing aircraft, crewed by two of these "pilots" flew from a coastal entry fix till abeam the Smith Falls NDB in total radio silence, that is untill untill the two F18s in formation got their attention! doesnt sound like they were in the loop to say the least , also for my sins I have been a radio examiner for many years, what we have been hearing in our little corporate aircraft frome some{not all} of these guys is not even level four English. As for them pooching their rides, forgive me, but I find that hard to belive given the liason between most civil aviation departments these days, in part promted by some "P51" logbooks turning up in various places, that anyone would risk their licence in such a way, Be as all this may be, it would seem that the Canadian Government have closed the barn door, lets hope they also locked it! Interesting times to say the least!

[Rather Be Skiing]

....Having said this there can be little doubt in the minds of those whos job it is to watch the ME that it will implode, when? not sure but it will, well can I remember sitting with an MEA crew who had no clue what was coming at them on their return to their base, but if you want to ignore the obvious truth, good luck to you and your kin, I hope you get out OK when it implodes.

Thanks for your concern Clunck. I think we will be fine.

Can I surmise from your comments that you are one 'whose job is to watch the ME'? When you speak of the ME imploding are you referring to the airline industry or the whole region? Perhaps you can elaborate on 'the obvious truth' about this implosion.

As far as more flights to Canada? It will happen, and probably sooner, now that AC is in an agreement with EY and will also connect with Turkish via Istanbul. The next logical step to increase access to this part of the world is a renegotiated bi-lateral. They are not listening to the same experts as you I guess.

[KRUGERFLAP]

great news for relatives and friends

[Rather Be Skiing]

Took a little longer than first mentioned (big surprise!), but the visa issue for Canadians is sorted effective June 1.


http://www.travelvideo.tv/news/united-arab-emirates/05-28-2013/united-arab-emirates-announces-visa-removal-for-canadian-passport-holders

Now the bi-lateral can be renegotiated.