Visas for United Arab Emirates nationals

This file concerns visas for UAE nationals. It contains correspondence and memoranda relating to:

• HMG’s concern over Palestinians using UAE passports illegally
• The attempt of a group of Palestinian terrorists to obtain US visas
• HMG’s decision to abandon the informal visa waiver arrangement
• HMG’s decision to tighten up its visa policy in order to assist the Security Service in identifying Arab terrorists
• The UAE Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi’s visit to London and his efforts to persuade HMG to abolish visa requirements for UAE nationals
• Cases of Lebanese nationals obtaining UAE passports in Sharjah, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain
• HMG’s reluctance to let South Yemenis and Iraqis enter the UK
• Britain’s relations with Iraq
• The UK Ambassador to the UAE D J McCarthy’s view that HMG’s visa system for Arabs is ineffective and that it inconveniences and antagonises people who are not a threat to the UK
• HMG’s view on the visa systems of France and Germany
• The ‘96-hour facility’ in the UAE, whereby businessmen can enter Abu Dhabi without a visa, providing they leave their passports at the airport and depart again within four days
• Negotiations between the FCO and the UAE government regarding a bilateral visa abolition agreement.