The United Arab Emirates has banned Indians from travelling to the country to curb the spread of Delta variant. Long-term residents (such as those with the Golden Visa) and diplomats will be exempt from the ban. There is no information for how long the ban will last, leaving many UAE-based companies to shift their short-term hiring plans, sourcing talent locally instead of hubs in South Asia like India.
Speaking to News Karnataka, Kiran, an NRI working in Dubai said, Many are at the risk of job loss as due to the current unstable market, many companies are working on minimum staff. If manpower is not available for a long time then they might find another suitable one. As this flight ban happened all of a sudden, many came to India on urgent matters and short holidays. Some of their families like wife and kids are in UAE or vice versa. Some families are in worst condition as their family members are hospitalised and they cannot support them, he expressed.
Explaining the problems he said, “Many people are not paid by companies as they are not working. This has impacted their financial commitments as well. UAE is expensive with respect to housing rents and utility charges. Even though the apartments are not used, they have to pay the rent and minimum utility charges, he added.
He further stated that “As the flight cancellation is indefinite with no information as to when it t is going to resume, people are in dilemma to opt alternative options like going via different countries and quarantine options. However, as there is no definite information people are struggling to make decisions,” he added.
The Indian Embassy of UAE must consider this matter seriously and talk to their officials in this regard as soon as possible, he urged.