According to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the UAE's embassy in Ottawa, Canadians will need a visa to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This was announced on Monday and it will be applied starting from January 2nd, although the requirements for the visas were not announced.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada updated its website and said that the visas will be required for tourism and business purposes and should be applied prior to travel at the UAE Embassy.
No entry without visa for Canadians
http://www.newzglobe.com/article/20101109/no-entry-without-visa-canadians“All sovereign states have the right to decide the entry requirements for visitors to their countries,” Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon’s spokesman Jacques Labrie said.
Canada has recently been involved in a tiff with UAE concerning landing rights in Canada for UAE-based carriers and these landing rights at domestic airports has cost the country its secret military supply base in Dubai. The Canadian troops were also forced to evacuate Camp Mirage last week as a reaction to the federal government's refusal to permit UAE carriers, Emirates and Etihad Airways to land more often at Canadian airports. The closure of this base includes a huge loss of approximately $300 million, and the Canadian government is still trying to find a replacement since this location was the main supply for its military mission in Afghanistan.
Paul Dewar, the Foreign Affairs critic for the NDP said “This is an unprecedented step that will have a major impact on travel and business between Canada and the UAE. Last week, it cost our military $300-million to scramble out of our base in the UAE – now this."
