The United Arab Emirates will stop issuing tourist and work visas to Ugandan nationals starting in 2026, according to an immigration advisory released this week. The suspension also applies to citizens of Cameroon, Sudan, and Somalia.
The UAE, a federation of seven emirates including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, said the restriction is temporary but did not provide detailed reasons. Past decisions of this kind have been linked to concerns about overstays, irregular migration, and security issues.
“As per the immigration circular, nationals from certain countries are currently restricted from applying for UAE tourist visas and UAE work permits. Applications from these countries are not being accepted temporarily,” the government said in its advisory dated September 17, 2025.
The measure is likely to affect thousands of Ugandans working legally in the UAE, many in domestic services, beauty salons, and shopping malls. Uganda’s government has not yet issued a response.
This is not the first time the UAE has imposed restrictions. In 2024, the government offered an amnesty program allowing undocumented Ugandans to return home without penalties. In earlier years, short-term visa bans were introduced to limit migration from African countries where authorities said overstays were common.
In 2022, the UAE briefly issued 30-day tourist visas to Ugandans, only to suspend them again without explanation.
The new suspension comes as Uganda faces increasing scrutiny over the treatment of its migrant workers in the Gulf. A BBC investigation published this month detailed trafficking networks in Dubai that targeted young Ugandan women. The report alleged that recruiters promised legitimate jobs in hotels and supermarkets, only to force women into sex work under conditions of debt and exploitation.
Testimonies collected by the BBC included accounts of women falling to their deaths from high-rise buildings under unclear circumstances. Families of victims, such as 23-year-old Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi, said their relatives’ cases were never properly investigated. Karungi’s family told the BBC that her body was never returned to Uganda and is believed to have been buried in an unmarked grave in Dubai.
Uganda officially sends more than 4,400 workers to the UAE each year, according to government data. Migrants there make up about 4.5 percent of Uganda’s labor force abroad. The UAE offers multiple types of visas, ranging from tourist and work permits to retirement and student visas, but restrictions have repeatedly been placed on applicants from certain countries.
While the UAE has described the current ban as temporary, the decision highlights the fragile balance between managing labor migration and addressing human rights concerns. For many Ugandans, it has also renewed fears about the risks that continue to follow those seeking work opportunities in the Gulf.
