UAE Korean Businesspeople's Swift Entry Promotion

KCCI Conducts Demand Survey
Resolving Entry and Exit Difficulties Following Vietnam

On the 22nd, Korean businesspeople operating in Vietnam are waiting in line for check-in to board a charter flight.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government and economic organizations have taken steps to resolve entry and exit difficulties faced by Korean businesspeople operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following similar measures in Vietnam amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the business community on the 24th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) is conducting a demand survey to support the rapid entry of Korean businesspeople into the UAE. This is to establish a "fast track" with the UAE to facilitate the movement of essential local personnel who have been stranded due to the COVID-19 situation.

KCCI is currently reviewing with the government measures to exempt or shorten the two-week self-quarantine period upon entry for businesspeople who need urgent business trips to the UAE.

As of today, over 200 Korean businesspeople have applied for rapid entry into the UAE through KCCI. Requests are reportedly high from large corporations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises supplying key parts for local oil refining plant projects. However, family members of expatriates were excluded from this demand survey.

Businesspeople with urgent trips are expected to be able to enter the UAE without the two-week quarantine as early as next month. KCCI is planning to facilitate departures once a month over a four-month period from August to November.

KCCI explained that when conducting urgent departures to the UAE, businesspeople will need to follow separate procedures such as carrying transportation and health status certificates. However, there is a possibility that authorities may strengthen quarantine measures due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases locally.

The government has recently expressed a strong willingness to actively support the resolution of management difficulties faced by Korean businesspeople due to COVID-19, making the institutionalization of this UAE entry exception highly likely.

An official from a company operating in Dubai said, "With concerns about entry delays due to the local authorities' strengthening of quarantine measures, we expect that the UAE rapid entry procedure will make it easier to dispatch urgent personnel."

KCCI plans to work closely with related ministries such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide multifaceted conveniences throughout the entire process?including entry negotiations, visa issuance, flights, and quarantine issues?not only for Vietnam and the UAE but also for countries with significant economic activities by Korean businesspeople such as Indonesia and Singapore in the future.

A KCCI official stated, "Once the UAE demand survey is completed, we will do our best to enable businesspeople who need urgent trips to operate locally as quickly as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.