The UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) has quietly expanded its mandatory Good Conduct Certificate requirement to ten additional nationalities with effect from 20 July 2026, according to a directive circulated to free-zones and immigration agents. As reported by mobility platform xpath.global, new employment and investor-visa applicants from Ghana, Lebanon, Lithuania, Morocco, Mozambique, Pakistan, Senegal, Syria, Tonga and one yet-to-be-named nationality must now submit a police clearance from their home country before their visa can be approved. Renewals already in process are exempt. Obtaining a Good Conduct Certificate can take two to six weeks depending on the issuing authority and whether documents need legalisation or apostille. Employers are therefore being advised to build extra lead time into onboarding schedules and to warn candidates of potential delays. For large corporates, the new rule could complicate graduate-trainee intakes and short-notice project deployments, particularly where background-check providers have limited coverage in smaller jurisdictions such as Tonga or Mozambique. Failure to attach the certificate will result in automatic file rejection within ICP’s system, triggering a fresh application and additional fees. Immigration advisers expect further nationalities to be added in the coming months as the UAE continues tightening security vetting in parallel with its push for high-skilled talent under the Golden Visa and Green Residence programmes.
Source: xpath.global
