By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS
New Delhi : Indians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who could not take advantage of the amnesty scheme for illegal foreign workers before the Sep 2 deadline can apply for emergency papers in the one-month grace period that the government there has allowed.
“Initially, they (the UAE authorities) did not want fresh applications for emergency certificates from foreign workers during the grace period after the expiry of the deadline, but now they have agreed,” said India’s Ambassador to the UAE Talmiz Ahmad.
“Even now we are receiving applications (from Indian workers) in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai,” Ahmad told IANS.
In June, the UAE government had announced a three-month amnesty scheme for foreigners present illegally in the country to regularise their status according to the law or leave the country without penalty.
Following the expiry of the Sep 2 deadline, the government gave a one-month grace period as flights coming out of the country were filled to capacity and could not accommodate all those who had been issued out-passes to leave.
Ahmad, who was here to attend a conference of Indian envoys to 10 countries with a major presence of Indian workers, said that papers for around 70,000 Indian workers were processed during the course of the amnesty period.
“An interesting trend we noticed was that of the 70,000 people who applied, around 35,000 were from Andhra Pradesh,” he said, adding that it was quite contrary to the common perception that most Indian workers in the UAE were from Kerala.
In all, he said, the UAE government processed papers for 270,000 illegal foreign workers in that country.
Coming down heavily on illegal migration, the ambassador said, “I want zero tolerance for illegal migration. The malaise lies at home (India). People living in poor conditions want to migrate abroad in search of jobs without knowing the laws governing emigration. They are then exploited by recruiting agents and corruption in emigration offices adds to the problems.”
The ambassador said he had a three-point message for the Indian community in the UAE to check the menace of illegal migration.
“One, come legally. Two, come against a job for which you are qualified. And thirdly, ensure that the pay packet is commensurate with your work experience.”
There are around 1.5 million Indians in the UAE, of whom 800,000 are in Dubai, 300,000 in Abu Dhabi and the rest spread across the other five emirates of Ajman, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras-al Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain. Many of them work as contract labourers in the booming construction industry in that Gulf nation.