INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Overstaying residents have the option to exit the country without paying fines (Representational)Dubai: The UAE on Wednesday launched a
landmark three-month visa amnesty programme which will benefit hundreds of illegal foreign workers, including Indians, overstaying their
permits by allowing them to leave the country without penalties and giving them six months to find a job.The UAE is home to 2.8 million
Indian expatriates, the largest expatriate community in the country
Professionally qualified personnel constitute about 15 to 20 per cent of the community, followed by 20 per cent white-collar
non-professionals (clerical staff, shop assistants, sales men, accountants, etc) and the remainder 65 per cent comprises blue-collar
workers.The government did not release specific numbers, but says thousands of people, primarily labourers from countries like India,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines, will benefit from the the amnesty scheme which will facilitate their smooth
return to their home countries.As per Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), the entity responsible for entry and residence
of foreigners in the UAE, visa violators before August 1, 2018 will be able to rectify their status legally during the amnesty period, which
will end on October 31.Blacklisted and those who have legal cases against them are not eligible for amnesty
This is the third such amnesty announced by the UAE government in just over a decade, media reports said.Overstaying residents have the
option to exit the country without paying fines or facing jail or getting banned or they can rectify their status by getting a new-sponsored
valid visa.As the amnesty period started, tens of thousands of expatriates gathered outside their respective visa outsourcing agencies in
different parts of the country.Only one Indian amnesty seeker turned up at the BLS International Centre in Abu Dhabi, the Indian Embassy's
outsourced agency for consular services, Gulf News reported."Only one person applied for emergency certificate as of 10.45am," the newspaper
quoted a senior Indian Embassy official as saying.He said it may not be an indicator of the number of Indian residency law violators."It is
It is too early to talk about the trend," he said.The official said the embassy and community organisations have intensified the awareness
campaigns about the amnesty
Several community organisations have opened help desks in their premises
Therefore, many amnesty seekers may come forward in the coming days, the official said.Indian workers and housemaids who had previously
taken outpasses from their consulate were the first to arrive at the main BLS Centre in Al Khaleej Centre in Dubai.The workers, mainly from
the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said they could not fly home with the outpasses as they had to pay fines for visa violations,
the paper said."Then we heard about the amnesty and decided to wait till today
But when we went to Al Aweer amnesty centre in the morning we were told to renew the outpass as it is valid only till tomorrow," said Swami
S, who came along with three of his former co-workers.Lakshmi Devi Reddy, a housemaid who ran away from her employer two years ago allegedly
because she was not allowed to talk to her family more than once a month, said the outpass she had got earlier expired in June."I got it
extended for one more month
I had also paid all the fines
But I couldn't go as I didn't get police clearance
I think my sponsor has filed a case against me
I need to apply again and get the case cleared if it is there
I really hope that I can go home without any more fines."
