Sajeev Joseph’s spouse and son returned to Sharjah after they acquired a humanitarian exemption from the GDRFA
Meet the Joseph household that skilled a joyful reunion late on Sunday night, due to the humanitarian journey exemption clause launched by UAE authorities for residents stranded overseas.
Sajeev Joseph, director of gross sales at Flora Resorts, instructed Khaleej Instances that his household, together with his spouse Sheena and son Amal, travelled to India on March 24 for his or her annual trip. The household has been stranded in Kerala since April 24, after the UAE introduced a suspension on inbound travellers from a number of locations, together with India, to curb the unfold of the delta variant.
Joseph’s spouse and son lastly arrived within the UAE on board an Air Arabia flight from Kochi on Sunday. The household walked Khaleej Instances by their ordeal on Monday. “My older daughter Anjali is pursuing her larger research in Kerala. Whereas we loved the preliminary days of our holidays; we’ve technically been stranded in India since April 24. We couldn’t return forward of the border closures,” mentioned Joseph.
Determined to return to his job, Joseph returned to the UAE a month in the past through Armenia. “Whereas I did wish to convey my household with me, the third nation quarantine route is an costly one. I may afford the price of just one particular person’s journey bills,” he added.
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Sheena, who runs a journey enterprise, determined to remain again with the couple’s son Amal, a Grade 12 pupil of Our Personal English Excessive College, Sharjah. “My son is within the final yr of his faculty this yr. We needed to return underneath all circumstances,” mentioned Joseph.
“We’ve been making an attempt each approach doable for us to return,” the couple mentioned. Final week, when the UAE’s Common Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Nationwide Emergency Disaster and Disasters Administration Authority (NCEMA) introduced that totally vaccinated residence visa holders from the ‘crimson checklist nations can return to the nation, the household felt immense aid.
“Sadly for us, my spouse hadn’t taken each doses of the vaccine from the UAE. She acquired her jabs in India (Covishield). We felt determined over again, till a journey company we work carefully with knowledgeable us that we may return on the humanitarian exemption,” he added.
How did the Joseph household apply for exemption?
A UAE resident for over 18 years, Joseph mentioned: “We’ve a Dubai residency visa. I reached out to Arooha Journey Company for assist they usually took us by the applying course of.”
Since there is no such thing as a formal software course of from the Common Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) cell app or web site, Sheena mentioned: “The company up to date our particulars on the ‘passenger arrival’ part of the Federal Authority for Identification and Citizenship (ICA).” After this, Amal and Sheena utilized for GDRFA entry permits on-line and acquired them.
“We did the RT-PCR assessments and went to the airport. On the check-in counter in Cochin Worldwide Airport (CIAL), we defined to the officers that we wish to journey on a humanitarian exemption,” mentioned Sheena. The household supplied their sponsor’s (Joseph’s) passport and Emirates ID copies as proof and the couple had been allowed to board the flight after finishing the four-hour speedy PCR take a look at. “The air tickets price us Dh1,250 every, less expensive than how a lot we’d’ve spent if we had travelled through Armenia,” mentioned Joseph.
Rashid Abbas, managing director of Arooha Travels, mentioned: “The service is comparatively easy and straightforward to entry. Lots of people who want to journey usually are not conscious of the processes that must be adopted. Like Joseph, we now have helped one other household as effectively.”
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com