Ministry of Foreign Affairs launches travel safety advice campaign

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has launched a new travel advice campaign for UAE nationals planning to travel abroad, to ensure their safety and fulfil its role in facilitating their travel and stay abroad, coinciding with the Eid-al-Fitr holiday and the start of the country’s summer holidays.

Rashid Ali Al Dhaheri, Director of the Nationals Administration at the Ministry, highlighted the importance of the campaign and pointed out that it could be regularly updated while noting that it is available to view on the ministry’s official website, https://www.mofa.gov.ae/.

He urged the UAE’s nationals planning to travel abroad to register themselves and their families, including the elderly and children, for the "Tawajodi" service through the ministry’s website, which will enable them to contact the ministry and its missions abroad through a smart application in cases of emergency.

Al Dhaheri also urged the UAE’s nationals wishing to travel to register for the "Mussafer" programme, which is an emergency health insurance policy that was recently launched by the ministry, in cooperation with the National Company for Health Insurance, Daman, to protect its nationals abroad and provide them with the highest levels of emergency medical treatment, as well as to raise awareness about the risks of travelling, promote safety, and compensate their losses during their travels.

He also called on UAE nationals abroad to be careful and follow local traffic laws and regulations.

Al Dhaheri urged those nationals who plan to travel to India to consult relevant travel laws while highlighting a ban on taking the local currency out of the country, and the necessity of disclosing the presence of gold as soon as they arrive at an Indian airport. He also advised them to consult the ministry’s website or smart application.

Al Dhaheri also called on the UAE’s nationals travelling abroad to respect local laws and represent their country in an honourable manner while highlighting the importance of cooperating with local authorities when they arrive at the airport and disclosing any required personal information.

He added that passengers arriving at or departing from the European Union or the United States carrying EUR10,000 or more must disclose the amount to customs officers and stressed that they should avoid travelling to areas with security issues.

He then noted the importance of choosing appropriate housing to ensure their security, and safety and avoiding accommodation that does not comply with the minimum requirements while warning them against leaving the doors of their apartments or rooms open and affirming the necessity of confirming the identity of people before opening their doors, not leaving their children alone outside, and avoiding going out late at night.

Al Dhaheri stressed the need to commit to laws that prohibit the wearing of veils, niqabs and burqas in some European countries, including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, in public institutions and areas.

He also advised UAE nationals to consult hunting warnings on the ministry’s website while adding that they must comply with local hunting laws and obtain a hunting licence in the host country.

He then urged them to not wear expensive jewellery that might attract attention in public areas, and when taking non-national escorts abroad, they must follow the standard procedures, apply for an entry visa, and carry a written acknowledgement to cover the expenses of their servants.

Al Dhaheri highlighted the necessity of storing passports in a safe place and not carry them around markets and public areas, as well as to keep a copy in their email. He also reminded potential travellers to check the validity date of their passports and ensure that it is not less than six months.

He advised them to look after their children, especially the disabled (people of determination), to avoid any unfortunate incidents, as well as to avoid carrying considerable amounts of money and carry credit cards instead.

Al Dhaheri affirmed the importance of knowing the emergency numbers of the ministry’s diplomatic missions abroad. The number allocated for countries without any UAE diplomatic representation is "0097180044444," he said in conclusion.

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