Foreign nationals stuck in the United Arab Emirates after its airspace was temporarily sealed off will not face financial penalties for exceeding their authorized stay, under a new exemption announced by UAE authorities and effective from February 28, 2026.
The relief measure applies to three groups caught in legal limbo because of the disruption: visitors and tourists whose permitted duration in the country has lapsed, individuals on departure permits who could not leave within the required timeframe, and those holding cancelled residence permits who were unable to exit following the cancellation.
The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and Northern Emirates relayed the announcement to the Filipino community in the UAE, where hundreds of thousands of overseas Filipino workers reside. Both diplomatic missions called on the public to keep tracking updates from official UAE channels as the situation continues to develop.
The airspace closure, triggered by the wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes that began hitting Gulf states on February 28, grounded commercial flights across the country for days and left tens of thousands of travelers and foreign residents unable to depart as scheduled.
