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EU signs bilateral visa waiver agreement with UAE

Xinhua, May 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a reciprocal bilateral short-stay visa waiver agreement on Wednesday.

The UAE Ambassador to the EU, H.E. Sulaiman Hamid Al Mazroui was present at the signing ceremony in Brussels.

Citizens of the United Arab Emirates will now be able to travel without a visa to the EU for stays of up to 90 days (within any 180-day period).

The remaining visa requirements for some EU citizens traveling to the UAE have also been lifted.

The visa waiver does not apply to Britain and Ireland which are not part of the Schengen area.

European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "This will strengthen contacts and mutual understanding between our peoples and give a boost to the European tourism industry and the economy as a whole."

The agreement will be provisionally applied until its final ratification, an official press release said. Endit