IMMIGRATION-UAE: 10,000 illegals make use of amnesty

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

DUBAI, Mar 8 2003 (IPS) - Nearly 10,000 illegal residents turned themselves in at naturalization departments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) halfway through the four-month amnesty, said an official from the Ministry of Interior.

After a month and a half, the amnesty has not yielded satisfactory results, ‘Gulf News’ quoted the high-ranking official as saying.

"These illegals face heavy penalties and prison terms if they fail to turn up on their own, and are instead caught by the authorities during the amnesty," he said.

The ministry recently reported that they expect no more than 300,000 to leave, but less than 5,000 illegals submitted themselves to the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD), and about 3,000 in Abu Dhabi. The rest were from the Northern Emirates.

"The response this time is not satisfactory, but illegals should expect a massive crackdown to hunt them down," he said.

Illegal residents are advised to leave before the deadline. At the end of the four-month amnesty, the authorities will wage an intensive campaign to track down remaining illegal residents and infiltrators.

The DNRD has so far issued 2,861 exit papers for illegals who turned themselves in to benefit from the amnesty.

Most of the offenders are Indians (1,520), followed by Pakistanis (850), Bangladeshis (670), and Iranians (390). There were a couple of hundred Sri Lankans, and 70 illegals hailed from other countries.

From February 22, the DNRD will receive only the female illegal immigrants.

The male illegal immigrants should go to Al Quoz – Al Tawari jail.

They should bring with them their passports and their expired visas.

A copy of the outpass permit will be given to the overstayer, but the original will be kept at the immigration office at the airport.

The outpass permit allows the overstayer to leave the country within 15 days, or they can come to renew it for another seven days.

They should also mention in the travel permit which airport they will exit from.

A copy of the exit pass will be sent to the airport immigration office. When the amnesty-seeker arrives at the airport, they must hand over their copy of the exit pass, which will signify that they have indeed left the country.

The DNRD has about 7,000 passports for absconders, of which 1,500 are Indian housemaids.

The absconding housemaids are advised to submit themselves to the Investigation Section with air tickets. DNRD officials will take their statements and fingerprints before sending their passports to the airport where they can collect it upon leaving the country.

He explained that this time, all amnesty seekers would be banned from entering the country for a year under the current federal laws.

No one-year ban will be issued for visitors and those on transit visa, who have been overstaying for short periods if they pay the fines.

"There will be a permanent re-entry ban on those with serious violations, such as infiltrating, having criminal records, entering illegally, and intentionally breaking the immigration laws for years," he said.

An official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said that the number of illegal expatriates who enter the UAE every year exceeds the needs of the country, and there are now over 500,000 unemployed expatriates, which has a bad affect on the country’s economy and social life.

"In 1996, the government granted an amnesty to all illegal foreigners. But the objectives of this amnesty were not met, and a large number of illegal expatriates remain jobless, adding a burden on the labor market," he said.

As a result of the previous amnesty, 150,000 expatriate workers found new jobs and sponsors, and 170,000 left with the help of their embassies, he said.

"Anyone who violates the labor law provisions or misuses them by supplying laborers illegally, or supplies incorrect information or documents in order to obtain such a license, will be penalized according to Labor Law No. 8," he said.

"The labor market must be controlled and the jobless expatriates must be sent back to their countries."