The UAE government yesterday (January 23) launched a new smartphone application aimed at helping Indian citizens apply for a work visa in the emirates, said a report.

The app, which was unveiled in New Delhi by Dr Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Banna, UAE Ambassador to India, will facilitate the process of completing a majority of the procedures in India, which will guarantee a work visa to the UAE without trouble, reported state news agency Wam.

It is currently available in both English and Hindi for Android platforms, while Malayalam will be added soon as a large number of job applicants are from the southern state of Kerala, it stated.

Dr Al Banna pointed out that the number of Indian visitors to the UAE surged to around 1.6 million last year, said the report.

With regard to Dubai, the envoy said the number exceeded a million between January and September 2017, marking a 20 per cent increase compared to the same period the year before, it added.