Tag: visa

  • ‘Disappointed’: Djokovic reaches Dubai after deportation from Australia

    ‘Disappointed’: Djokovic reaches Dubai after deportation from Australia

    Serbian Tennis Ace Novak Djokovic has been deported from Australia after his visa was cancelled by the Australian government. The dream of his 10th Australian Open title was dusted when an Australian court upheld a government deportation order.

    As per details, three Federal Court judges on Sunday sided with Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision made to cancel the Serb’s visa on public interest grounds.

    Shortly after the ruling, federal agents escorted unvaccinated Djokovic to the airport in Melbourne, where he boarded an Emirates flight bound for the United Arab Emirates.

    The 34-year-old landed in Dubai on Monday morning.

    Before his departure, Djokovic said he was “extremely disappointed” by the Australian court’s ruling, but said he respected the decision.

    “I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open,” he said in a statement.

    “I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love,” he added.

    After landing in Australia, the Serb star fought for his visa for almost 11 days. The tennis ace was participating in the tournament eyeing his 21st Grand Slam Title.

    The country’s immigration minister cancelled his visa on the grounds that Djokovic’s presence in Australia may be a risk to the health and “good order” of the Australian public and “may be counterproductive to efforts at vaccination by others in Australia”.

    Djokovic was scheduled to play his first-round Australian Open match today (Monday).

  • Australia cancels unvaccinated Tennis Star Novak Djokovic’s visa, reportedly lied on visa application

    Australia cancels unvaccinated Tennis Star Novak Djokovic’s visa, reportedly lied on visa application

    Australia has cancelled Serbian Tennis ace Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time in a row over his right to remain in the country unvaccinated.

    The decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke means that the 34-year-old tennis star will be deported.

    However, Djokovic can still launch one more legal challenge to remain in the country.

    The men’s tennis number one was scheduled to play in the Australian Open, which is set to begin on Monday.

    “Today I exercised my power… to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” the minister said in a statement.

    The move also means Djokovic likely faces a three-year ban on obtaining a new Australian visa.

    Djokovic’s visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after Australian border Force officials said he had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” to receive a vaccine exemption.

    After a legal battle in Australia, the star player’s visa was reinstated by a judge, who ordered his release, ruling that border officials ignored correct procedure when he arrived.

    But on Friday evening in Melbourne, Mr Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa under separate powers in Australia’s Migration Act.

    As per details, the act allows him to deport anyone he deems a potential risk to “the health, safety or good order of the Australian community”, however Djokovic can still appeal this.

    It comes after Djokovic addressed allegations that he had made a false declaration on his travel form which stated that he had not travelled in the 14 days prior to his arrival in Australia, when in fact he had been to Spain.

    He said the mistake was made by his agent, calling it “human error” and adding that it was “not deliberate”.

    He also admitted meeting a journalist and having a photoshoot after testing positive for Covid-19.

    Earlier, a conversation between two Australian newsreaders on Novak Djokovic’s visa saga had gone viral, after a video of it was leaked online. In the video, the newsreaders can be heard talking against the tennis star while saying that “he’s going to get away with this”.

  • British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo, Nawaz Sharif’s request for an extension in his visit visa has been turned down by British authorities, reported Geo News.

    Nawaz’s six-month visit visa has expired, after which he had put in a request with the United Kingdom (UK) Home Office to grant him an extension on health grounds.

    The request, however, was denied by the immigration department.

    PML-N leader has two ways to go about this recent development in relevance to his stay: to appeal the decision with the department, and in the event, it is turned down, he can approach British courts.

    Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said, “Nawaz cannot travel anywhere with his expired Pakistani passport.”

    Rasheed further added that Nawaz’s visa had expired on February 16 and that he is “no longer a citizen of Pakistan”.

    PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb took to Twitter and tweeted that the British home department in their response has stated that Nawaz can appeal the decision with an immigration tribunal.

    She said Nawaz’s lawyers had therefore filed an appeal with the tribunal, his medical records will be included in it as well.

    “Nawaz Sharif can legally reside in Britain until the decision,” she said.

    The PML-N spokesperson while talking to Geo News said that Nawaz “has not and will never seek political asylum”.

    “These people [government] have nothing better than to do than to speak lies about Nawaz Sharif every day,” she said.

  • Qatar announces visa on arrival for Pakistanis

    Qatar has issued a new immigration policy directives to the concerned authorities in this regard. According to details, Pakistani citizens would be granted a 30-day tourist visa upon arrival at the airport for a fee of QAR 100 (4378.22 PKR) valid for a period of 30 days, which can be extended for a similar period.

    Following are the conditions to get a visa on arrival:

    Valid passport for at least six months.

    Confirmed return ticket.

    Polio vaccination certificate

    Confirmed hotel reservation in one of the country’s hotels during the visit period.

    Fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by the Ministry of Public Health and completing a period of 14 days after the last dose.

    Must have a certificate confirming negative PCR test completed during 48 hours from the time of arrival.

  • ‘Japan to hire thousands of IT experts from Pakistan’

    ‘Japan to hire thousands of IT experts from Pakistan’

    The Government of Japan has decided to hire thousands of IT professionals from Pakistan in the coming years. As per details, the Japanese government is looking for people with expertise in cloud computing, data sciences, programming and artificial intelligence (AI).

    Delegations from the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) met officials from the Ministry of Overseas and Human Resources Development and experts from the Pakistan Association of Software Houses for IT and ITES (P@SHA) for recruitment.

    It is also mandatory to learn the basic Japanese language besides degrees and required skills to avail job opportunities in Japan.

    Furthermore, the above-stated organisations and departments will give visas, funds for travel and other expenses to the hired candidates.

    Both countries have collaborated because Japan needs programmers and people with expertise in AI and data sciences. But, they added that the Pakistani government have to arrange boot camps for six months to one year to train people with the required skills.

    This step has been taken to balance the cultural diversity as Indians and Bangladeshi IT companies are already dominating the Japanese market.

    The Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) has recently begun to advertise jobs for hiring different professionals.

    Pakistan is currently producing over 25,000 IT graduates every year in various disciplines of IT and computer sciences.

    Experts say that Pakistan’s export of IT professionals could reach nearly 1,000 per year, which is a good number in the prevailing circumstances.

    The local industry has been expanding its businesses in various dimensions in the past one and half years to meet the demand of the local and foreign markets, which has resulted in significant job openings for new graduates in recent months.

    More than 16,000 Pakistanis reside in various cities of Japan. This community maintains a positive image in Japan and linkages with the department of the host country that help Pakistani students in the pursuit of their careers and businesses.

  • American blogger Cynthia Ritchie told to leave Pakistan within 15 days

    American blogger Cynthia Ritchie told to leave Pakistan within 15 days

    Ministry of Interior has denied the request of a further extension in the visa of American blogger Cynthia Ritchie, telling her to leave the country within 15 days.

    Earlier, the Interior Ministry had changed its stance on Ritchie’s stay in Pakistan and told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that she was not associated with any government institution of the country.

    The court had on Tuesday sought the business visa policy from the ministry on September 22 in the case seeking Ritchie’s deportation. The additional attorney general had informed the court that the blogger had stated before the ministry that she was not associated with any government institution of the country.

    At this, Chief Justice Athar Minallah noted that previously the ministry’s stance was that Ritchie was serving some government institution in Pakistan. He said the ministry had not adopted a clear stance on the matter so far.

    Expressing displeasure with the representative of the Interior Ministry, the bench remarked what orders the ministry had passed.

    “Is there any law or policy?” the chief justice asked.

    He also asked whether the ministry had any documents, which tell the visa policy for foreigners.

    The court asked if tomorrow someone came on a business visa and gave a statement against the prime minister, would they be would be treated in the same way.

    The bench also ordered the lower court to decide the registration of First Information Report (FIR) against Ritchie after listening to the matter again.

    The court also stopped the blogger from giving any controversial statements against politicians, to which she had assured the court that she would not give any controversial statements against any politician.

  • VISA, NayaPay Partner to revolutionise digital payment system in Pakistan

    VISA, NayaPay Partner to revolutionise digital payment system in Pakistan

    NayaPay, an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), has collaborated with Visa, a leading global payment solution. Now they have access to Visa’s growing partner and global payments network, technology, and resources to accelerate innovation in digital payments in Pakistan.

    NayaPay will enable users to open electronic (E)-Money accounts within a few minutes and make hassle-free digital payments to each other and to businesses.

    NayaPay consumers and merchants can use their NayaPay Visa debit card to perform online and in-store transactions with millions of retailers worldwide as well as withdraw cash conveniently at any ATM location.

    NayaPay customers can also scan Visa merchant QR codes to make payments directly through their app.

    NayaPay will also facilitate cross-border money transfers for freelancers and other Pakistan-based businesses working with international clients, and households receiving remittances from their families abroad.

    Users will be able to accept funds instantly and directly into their NayaPay wallets from over a billion Visa cards across the globe.

    Danish Lakhani, CEO NayaPay, said: “We are delighted to have found a partner in Visa that shares our goals of making financial services simpler, more convenient and accessible to Pakistani users – the needs of whom have been overlooked for far too long. Over the past few months, we have been integrating Visa’s offerings to reinforce our issuing and acquiring capabilities and to deliver on our promise of becoming a part of citizens’ daily lives.”

    “We are committed to helping fintech achieve their potential – enabling big ideas to flourish and supporting them through the reach, scale, and security of the Visa network,” said Kamil Khan, Country Manager, Pakistan, Visa.

    “By joining Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program, exciting fintech like NayaPay gain unprecedented access to Visa experts, technology, and resources,” said Otto Williams, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Fintech and Ventures, CEMEA at Visa.

  • Israelis thought they could visit Saudi Arabia: Saudi says No

    Israelis thought they could visit Saudi Arabia: Saudi says No

    Israel had officially given its citizens the right to travel to Saudi Arabia for religious and business visits but the Saudi foreign minister, in response, said that Israelis are not welcome to Saudi Arabia “at the moment”.

    The Israeli interior ministry announced the decision saying that they approve the travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj or Umrah and also that business travellers must have an invitation and arranged visitation approval.

    Although Israel has made the decision, the gesture was seen as a warming of ties between the two countries since Saudi Arabia does not recognise the State of Israel.

    Travelers to Middle Eastern countries would use this border crossing into Jordan to go to other countries

    Israelis travel to Saudi Arabia through countries like Jordan and Egypt, which have peaceful ties with Israel. The visits were never official but nonetheless, they take place.

    Israel has had difficult ties with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries due to its illegal occupation of Palestine and the atrocities it has committed against the Palestinian people.