DUBAI, 29 August 2007 — The UAE has extended the deadline during which illegal residents, who have processed their papers for repatriation in a recent amnesty, can leave the country. This is not an extension of the amnesty, which ends on Monday, but rather an extension for those that have already begun the process taking advantage of the amnesty, according to a statement by Sheikh Saif ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan, UAE minister of interior.
Brig. Muhammad ibn Owaidha Al-Kheili, director of the Department of Residency and Naturalization, said that his department would start next week an intense inspection campaign to find any illegal workers who have not heeded the warnings to use the amnesty.
The UAE Cabinet in June gave illegal residents three months to leave the country or adjust their status. During the amnesty period fines for violating residency laws have been waived and whoever wants to leave for his or her homeland has to present a plane ticket only and will not be prevented from returning legally.
Officials have warned those who ignore the amnesty and continue staying here illegally or those who employ illegal workers saying that no mercy will be shown to them: The penalty for those who employ or provide shelter to illegal workers will be one month in jail and 50,000 dirhams for each worker. It will be doubled for those who employ or provide shelter to infiltrators.
This is not the first time that the UAE has granted amnesty to illegal immigrants and workers. It has done so twice, the first time was in 1996 and the second in 2003. According to the Ministry of Labor estimates, the number of illegal workers in the UAE is around 300,000. Most of them have gone into hiding in many marginal jobs across the country and others turn to crime to supplement their incomes. This huge number causes a lot of problems especially as it is a big factor in creating an imbalance in the labor market.
