By IANS
Dubai : Bahrain will stop accepting amnesty applications from illegal immigrant workers by Dec 1, a month ahead of the expiry of its amnesty deadline, a senior immigration official has said.
In a bid to curb the blatant violation of the country’s labour norms, Bahrain had announced a general amnesty scheme for illegal foreign workers last month. It asked all illegal immigrant workers and their employers to regularise their work permits or face heavy penalties.
“Though the amnesty ends Dec 31, a lot of paper work has to be completed before all applications are processed,” General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence (GDNPR) investigation director Lt. Col. Ghazi Sinan was quoted as saying by Gulf Daily News.
“Anyone who wants to leave the country under the amnesty should, therefore, submit their applications urgently,” he said.
The scheme is similar to the one launched by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government, which ended earlier this month.
But, Lt Col Sinan said he is not happy with the response so far.
“Though the amnesty came into force on Aug 1, only 2,000-plus illegal workers have since applied to the GDNPR to leave the country.
“There was a big rush of amnesty-seekers during the first two weeks, but the number has dropped steadily.”
To promote awareness and encourage illegal immigrants to apply for the amnesty scheme, the Bahraini Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has decided to organise a festival next month.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy had issued 4,451 outpasses or emergency papers till Wednesday.
An embassy spokesman also appealed to the Indian outpass holders to go directly to Bahrain’s immigration department and complete all the formalities to leave the country.
“If they wait for another two months, they may find it difficult to get seats on flights, since November and December are peak periods,” he added.
According to 2001 data, there are approximately 130,000 Indians in Bahrain.