- Bangladesh’s foreign ministry confirmed UAE visa cancellations are global and not specifically targeting Bangladeshi citizens in twenty twenty-six.
- A humanitarian grace period ended on July tenth, leading to the resumption of standard overstay fines and visa rules.
- Official data shows six hundred twenty-six Bangladeshis were affected, significantly lower than the five thousand reported in rumors.
Bangladesh's foreign ministry said on July 30, 2026 that the UAE visa cancellations were not country-specific, pushing back against rumors that one passport group had been singled out. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed told an inter-ministerial meeting that Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Nepal and several other nationalities had also been affected. It was broader. The issue was tied to residency rules after regional disruption, not a passport blacklist.
Obaed said:
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"This is not a country-specific issue. The automatic cancellation of UAE visas is not specific to Bangladesh. Citizens of Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Nepal, and several other countries have also been affected."
The clarification came alongside a timeline that had already moved into force. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security set a temporary 30-day grace period from June 10 to July 9, 2026. The window was meant for people who could not leave the UAE or regularize their status because regional airspace closures and flight suspensions began on February 28, 2026. It was temporary. The relief was narrow.
That grace period ended on July 10, 2026. From that day, the humanitarian waiver for overstay fines expired and standard fines of AED 50 per day resumed for all nationalities without exception. The change applied across the board. People who had been waiting out the disruptions no longer had a fee break, even if they were still dealing with the fallout from the same regional crisis.
The authority also moved to automatic cancellations for residence visas that remained inactive or belonged to holders outside the country beyond the permitted timeframe during the conflict. The rule did not turn on nationality. It turned on status. Some residents found their visas had been canceled when they tried to return after the airspace reopened, and they had to apply for new entry permits before they could come back.
Bangladesh said 626 people were affected, not 5,000
Obaed said 626 Bangladeshi nationals were affected in the latest wave, not the 5,000 that had been circulating in rumors. She said similar numbers applied to other expatriate populations as well. The correction mattered because the larger figure had begun to spread faster than the official one. The ministry wanted that stopped. So did other governments watching the same dispute unfold.
The official explanation has pointed to individual security assessments and labor-market demand, rather than a blanket ban on specific passports. That framing keeps the cancellations in case-by-case territory. It also leaves room for different outcomes across nationalities and across individual files. The rumor of a nine-country ban never captured that nuance. The official line did.
Residents who were already outside the UAE found the problem when they tried to come back after the airspace reopened. The old visa was gone, and a fresh entry permit became necessary. The route back in reopened. The previous status did not.
