UAE, Oman start visa system at border point

The UAE and Oman have started enforcing visa requirements for expatriates shuttling between the two countries through the Hili border point in the eastern oasis town of Al Ain to replace an old system involving free and quick access of movement.

Non-GCC expatriates wishing to cross the border into the UAE at Hili outlet near Buraimi are now required to have a visa stamped on their passports for Dh35 while those travelling to Oman will have to pay OR5 (Dh50).

“The new visa system replaces the old one which involved free movement on both sides,” the semi-official Arabic language daily Al Ittihad said.

It said authorities have given three days to families who have UAE residence visas and live on the Omani side for cheaper house rents to move into a new house in Al Ain before the new system is fully enforced.

It said the new measures have forced thousands of non-GCC expatriate families living in Buraimi area in Oman to search for new cheap houses in low-cost residential areas in Al Ain, adding that they paid an average Dh12,000 a year for a two-bedroom flat inside Oman.

“A two-bedroom flat inside Al Ain costs around Dh40,000 and this has prompted thousands of families to look for houses in low-cost residential areas in Al Ain.”

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