UAE Blocks Entry Of Indian Passport Holders With Single Names, Airlines Say

The United Arab Emirates has reportedly issued new guidelines for airlines to follow regarding the entry of Indian passport holders. Travelers with single names will no longer be allowed into the country, airlines said according to Indian media.

"As per National Advance Information Center, UAE, the following guideline has been implemented with immediate effect for travel to UAE. Any passport holder with a single name (word) either in surname or given name will not be accepted by UAE immigration and the passenger will be considered INAD," according to a joint circular issued by Air India (AI) and AI Express, as reported by multiple Indian outlets.

The Consulate General of India in Dubai has also tweeted about the new rule.

INAD is an aviation term directed towards people who are inadmissible to a country they want to travel to. Airlines are required to return INAD passengers to their home countries.

The notice handed out by AI and AI Express further explained that the new rule "applies only to passengers with visit visa/visa on arrival/employment and temporary visas and is not applicable to existing UAE Resident card holders."

Air India explained in an example provided in the circular that a name cannot be a single word, The Times of India reported. For instance, if "Praveen" is written as the Given Name on the passport and the Surname is empty or vice versa, the passenger will be deemed INAD.

On the other hand, if "Praveen" is written as the Given Name and "Kumar" is written as the Surname, then the passenger will be allowed entry by UAE immigration.

Twitter users have since commented on the matter, raising concerns about the difficulties that people with single names will encounter due to the new rules.

One user argued that having a single name was "common in India."

Another user asked for assistance as his wife has a single name and no surname printed on the passport.

Referring to how the UAE appears to have ostracized Indian passport holders in its new entry rules, considering that only Indian airlines flying to the UAE have alerted their passengers so far, one user said "UAE also put this condition only for Indians not for any other country."

Dubai-based Khaleej Times reported that UAE immigration has started disallowing people with only their first names on their passports from flying out of Dubai following the implementation of the new rule.

A spokesperson for Dubai travel agency Deira Travels, Fardan Haneef told Khaleej Times that AI Express was just one of many other airlines serving the UAE to have issued a notice regarding the new guidelines. "We have also received a notice from IndiGo airline that people without surnames were not allowed to travel," Haneef said.

UAE's foerign ministry did not immediately comment on the issue when contacted by International Business Times. This article will be updated when a comment is received.