DUBAI, 31 July 2007 — As of yesterday the Consulate General of India in Dubai has received more than 33,000 applications for emergency certificates, which are needed for Indian nationals to obtain exit-passes from the UAE immigration.
The upsurge in applications is a result of an ongoing three-month amnesty for illegal workers who turn themselves in for deportation, as announced by the UAE government.
“We have received more than 33,000 applications for emergency certificates in the last two months. We have printed over 23,150 ... and delivered 16,600 of them,” Indian Consul B.S. Mubarak said.
“Out of the 40,000 passports of Indian nationals, which we received from the immigration authorities, 16,000 have been distributed,” he said.
Labor Ministry sources said that the ministry had so far issued warnings to 47 Abu Dhabi companies, which refused to give back passports to people seeking to take advantage of the amnesty to leave the country or legalize their status.
“Any company that fails to return the passports of illegal workers will have to face penalties,” warned Ahmed Al-Besher, legal adviser and supervisor of the Amnesty Seekers Section at the ministry.
The UAE government announced a three-month amnesty at the beginning of this month that all illegal residents who turn themselves in before Sept. 2 would be deported without being fined or imprisoned. The Labor Ministry has estimated the number of illegal migrants in the country to be 350,000.
Meanwhile, an information poster on sunstroke was released yesterday in four languages at the Indian Consulate. Ahmed Kajoor, assistant under secretary of the Labor Ministry, was present at the event and handed over the poster to company representatives.
Two Britons Jailed
Two British visitors to Dubai have been sentenced to four years in prison for possessing drugs for personal use.
A Dubai court on Sunday sentenced the pair to four years each for possessing various amounts of hashish for personal consumption,” press reports said yesterday.
They will be deported after serving their sentences. One of the two, aged 22, was arrested at Dubai airport on June 7. The other, aged 27, was also arrested at the airport after flying in from Afghanistan on June 22.
