Azernews.Az

DUBAI - The suspension of visa issuance for Azerbaijani citizens to visit Dubai was "purely technical", head of the first Dubai International Airport terminal Whaled Ahmed has said.

The male population of Azerbaijan aged 18-60 has failed to get a visa to visit Dubai during the last few days. The UAE authorities refuse to grant visas to Azerbaijani travel agencies working in this part of the world, without providing an explanation, some travel agencies said earlier.

"The problem concerned not only the citizens of Azerbaijan, but also representatives of other countries. Within one week, we were updating our database. So, visa issuance was suspended," Ahmed told a press conference.

All visa-related problems have been resolved. Azerbaijani citizens can freely obtain visas to the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai airport official said.

"The media had false information. The only reason for the suspension of visa issuance was updating the database. This does not mean that we are against the citizens of Azerbaijan", he said.

Dubai attaches great importance to its relations with Azerbaijan, given that many Azerbaijani businessmen work in the UAE, Ahmed said, adding that visa issuance has already been resumed.

New visa rules
The government of the United Arab Emirates plans to introduce a new simplified system for foreigners to get visas in 2011, head of the first Dubai International Airport terminal Waleed Ahmed said at a press conference in Baku.

"Thanks to a new Mobile visa system, foreigners will be able to make a request for a visa through the Internet without applying to the tour operators", Ahmed said.

Visiting the official website of the government of Dubai and filling in the electronic form, a person will receive an electronic version of the visa via an e-mail or a mobile phone. Upon arrival at Dubai airport, an electronic version will be submitted to immigration authorities, who will give the original visa after confirmation, official said.