Abu Dhabi, 20 September 2006, Residents of Al Buraimi, a northern Omani town that borders Al Ain, yesterday said that they could not afford the fee to cross the border.Residents of Al Buraimi who hold Omani residence visas will no longer be allowed to enter the UAE unless they obtain an entry visa , a senior official said yesterday."Al Hilli checkpoint in Al Ain, which controls the movement of people across the UAE-Oman borders will now be treated like other checkpoints with other neighbouring countries. This means that expatriates who hold Omani or other residence visas from GCC countries must obtain entry visas valid for one month to enter Al Ain," Lieutenant Nasser Al Awadi, director of the Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department, told Gulf News yesterday.

'U turn'

Residents of Al Buraimi complained that the decision was a 'U turn' without forewarning."On Monday I was not allowed to enter Al Ain without obtaining an entry visa for Dh100, which was cancelled on crossing the Al Hilli checkpoint on my way back home to Al Buraimi," said a resident in Al Buraimi, who asked not to be named.He added that his children, who study in an Al Ain school, were allowed to cross the borders as they were travelling in their school bus. "But what if I have to pick them up in an emergency … I cannot afford to pay Dh100 to cross the borders, which we used to cross freely."On Sunday, Al Awadhi told Gulf News that expatriates in the UAE and Oman will be allowed to cross the border if they have valid residence visas of either countries and on producing their passports."Yes that was the situation until Sunday, but a new decision was taken to stop this practice and make Al Hilli checkpoint an appropriate one similar to other checkpoints at the borders with other neighbouring countries," Al Awadi clarified.However, residents in the UAE are allowed to enter Al Buraimi because there is no checkpoint on the Omani side.

Identity cards

Citizens of the six GCC countries will be allowed to enter and exit the country across the border between the UAE and Oman through the checkpoint after producing their identity cards, according to Al Awadhi.Historically, trading, socialising and commuting between the cities of Al Ain and Buraimi had been commonplace, but security officials say that the measures at the UAE-Oman border are meant to stop the entry of illegal immigrants into the UAE

"On Monday I was not allowed to enter Al Ain without obtaining an entry visa for Dh100, which was cancelled on crossing the Al Hilli checkpoint on my way back home to Al Buraimi."