Representative imageDubai: UAE has announced amnesty for foreigners overstaying in the country to be effective for three months from August 1. They can either pay a fine and continue legally in the country or leave on their own. The amnesty has been declared soon after the government relaxed visa rules.
People whose visas have expired can correct the anomalies in their documents and leave the country without facing legal action. The amnesty will be in force from August 1 to October 31. Victims of natural disasters and wars will be given emergency residency permits for a period of one year. It was back in 2013 that UAE previously announced amnesty.
Officials of the Federal authority for identity and citizenship had announced that the amnesty would soon come into force while introducing a resolution on ‘Regularize your status, save yourself.’
The UAE cabinet had also decided to allow one-year visas for widows and women abandoned by their husbands and their children without sponsors.
These measures were introduced as part of the new visa rules which will come into force by the end of this year. The government aims to bring about social and economic uplift of women, especially widows and divorcees.
Representative imageThousands of Indians to benefit
Acting director general of Federal authority for identity and citizenship Saeed Rakan Al Rashidi has said that details regarding the amnesty would be announced soon. Issues like whether people leaving the country now could return later would be known then.
There are thousands of Indians, including Keralites, who are stranded in UAE since 2013, when the last time amnesty was announced. Many of them have lost their passports and residence documents. The amnesty announced now offers them a golden chance to legalise their stay or return to native places. While last time the amnesty was for two months, this time it will be in force for one more month.
Those who will benefit include not only labourers but also business men. Companies recruit labourers from north India to work in UAE for two years. But often they are not paid the salary promised. There are several instances where no payment is done. This forces the labourers to run away from their work places leaving their documents including passports behind and seek work elsewhere. Such people were helpless without papers and had no means to return home. The amnesty will benefit this section the most. Without amnesty, they would have to pay a huge sum as fine to return.
A majority of the businessmen stranded in the UAE after their ventures collapsed belong to Kerala. Many of them have no valid visa and were struggling to make both ends meet. Desperate, they used to approach the media to highlight their plight. Some of these people could return to their native place in this fashion.
It was during the amnesty of 2003 that the highest number of Indians left for their native land. Lakhs of people had benefited by the UAE’s humanitarian measure. Majority of them were construction labourers from north India. They had reached UAE after availing loans and selling family jewellery. In UAE their income was not sufficient to meet the expenses at home. While returning to India, they had said that they would never commit such a folly again. These north Indian labourers have instead chosen to head to Kerala in search of work ever since.
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Indian consulate in Dubai had opened special counters during amnesty earlier. Social activists too had helped. Such measures are expected this time too. The UAE government will also launch a toll-free number which the public can contact for information.
