Thousands more people on expired visas have approached consulates and embassies in the UAE asking for assistance during the continuing visa amnesty programme compared to previous initiatives, envoys have said.
In some cases, people who have lived in the UAE without legal documents for more than 20 years were able to return home with fines amounting to more than Dh350,000 waived.
With 10 days to go before the amnesty scheme ends on December 31, diplomats from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have renewed calls urging people who have overstayed to leave the UAE without facing penalties.
The opportunity to remain by finding a job and leave without facing a ban on re-entry was the reason more people sought amnesty this year than in previous programmes, according to senior officials from countries that attract the largest workforce to the UAE.
Consul General of India in Dubai
Exact numbers are not available and will be released by UAE authorities after collating figures from government centres. The UAE government launched the visa amnesty scheme on September 1 for two months and extended it until the year-end to allow people with expired residency and tourist visas to legalise their stay.
“The amnesty gives the opportunity to people to start afresh, reset their lives,” Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India in Dubai told The National.
“The numbers this time are higher than the previous amnesty primarily because of positive factors like no re-entry ban. When people are illegal, they are afraid to come out.
"Now they hope to return because this is a land of opportunity. They want to come back, work here, earn money and contribute to their family. This has given more people the confidence to step forward and get their status rectified.”
One-stop amnesty
During the 2018 visa amnesty, the consulate issued around 4,000 documents to legalise the stay of Indian nationals.
The consulate has so far issued more than 5,500 documents, including more than 3,200 outpasses that allow people without passports to leave the country and more than 2,000 short validity passports for those who found employment and must renew their visa.
About 750 ‘long-term’ overstayers, people who lived illegally for more than five years, secured exit passes. This included people who lived illegally for 20 to 30 years.
More than 15,000 people approached the consulate for assistance since September for amnesty and to resolve a wide range of labour and visa issues.
Many overstayers have absconding cases filed by employers if they quit their jobs or court cases for defaulting on bank loans and credit card dues.
The amnesty covers people who do not have pending court cases and fines so illegal residents struggling to clear cases are hesitant to approach authorities.
The consulate spread the word through community welfare groups that people not eligible for amnesty could also approach them to find a solution and resolve their illegal status.
Issues such as withdrawal of labour cases, appeals to withdraw absconding cases, requests to reduce credit card charges and overdue interest were handled free of cost at the consulate.
“We started an amnesty service centre in the consulate that became a one-stop shop – this is the first time we have done this,” Mr Sivan said.
“Apart from amnesty services, we guided people not eligible for amnesty on how to seek recourse if their employer filed a case against them. When fines were low, we guided them to community members who could help. This has been a great opportunity given by the UAE government to people who have ended up on the wrong side of law to regularise their stay.”
Land of opportunity
Sri Lanka Consul General Alexi Gunasekera said the amnesty served as a cautionary tale to dissuade people planning to come to the UAE on a visit visa to search for a job.
“Dubai is a land of opportunity for everyone. People who are promised the sun and moon by bogus agencies realise it’s an illusion after they come here,” Mr Gunasekera said. “The amnesty send a strong message. People who go back will tell people never to come on visit visas to search for a job.”
The consulate issued more than 1,400 outpasses allowing Sri Lankan nationals to leave the country without paying fines.
He met graduates and skilled workers who paid $3,000 to rogue recruiters for a job in Dubai. Duped into believing they would earn double high salaries, they were forced to work daily wage jobs.
A Sri Lankan journalist, unable to find a media job, resorted to making cold calls to sell credit cards to pay the rent and air fare home, Mr Gunasekera said.
“People were promised Dh7,000 and did not even get Dh1,000 a month,” he said. “They spend a lot of money on illegal agents so they want to make up money they have lost. We tell them you may have to forgo this money. We warn people after December 31 they will face jail and must pay all overstay fines.”
The Pakistan embassy too said it has reiterated warnings asking citizens without legal documents to leave the UAE. The embassy estimates between 8,000 to 9,000 Pakistanis availed of amnesty, including 3,200 outpass papers issued by the embassy.
“This time the overall numbers were higher compared to the last amnesty,” said Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Pakistan's Ambassador to the UAE. “Some who lost jobs stayed hoping they will find employment. "Our advice is if they have not found a job until now, they need to leave. They cannot keep staying in the hope of finding a job as their status will become illegal.”
A second chance
More than 50,000 Bangladesh nationals have applied in government Amer centres to remain in the UAE, Bangladesh officials said. The Bangladesh embassy said most would stay as they had found employment.
“We had a meeting with UAE authorities where we learnt that 50,000 plus Bangladeshis have regularised their status as they have found jobs,” said Muhammad Mizanur Rahman, charge d’affaires at the Bangladesh embassy.
The mission issued about 5,000 outpass documents to allow Bangladesh nationals to leave the UAE.
“A lot of people were waiting for amnesty because they lost jobs during the Corona pandemic. This is a great opportunity for them to go home. Our message is clear that if you cannot regularise, you should rush to go back in time.”
The Nepal Embassy said 400 nationals obtained outpasses and this was far below expectation. Among those who left the UAE, some had lived illegally for 17 to 21 years.
Dipendra Paudel, Nepal’s labour counsellor, said many were not eligible for amnesty until court and financial cases were cleared.
“Our expectation was a much higher number but the reality is different,” he said. “We asked people to come to the embassy so we can understand their problems, contact concerned banks, request release from court cases. It’s urgent people come to us.”
