‘Come through legal channels’

“We want to tell our people that they should not buy a visa and come to work in Oman. They do not need to do this. There are free, legal channels.

“We have found many cases where workers are buying visas before coming to work in Oman. It ranges from OMR1,200 to OMR1,500 which is equivalent to 300,000 in Bangladeshi currency.

“We urge everyone to follow the labour laws in Oman and the workers should work with their sponsors and should work in places in which they are hired.”

The advice comes in the wake of the Royal Oman Police cracking down on illegal migrants, who come to Oman in search of work on a tourist visa. Joint inspection teams caught more than 800 people on this charge in the last week alone, with the country’s Ministry of Manpower also describing this phenomenon as a “national problem”.

“Every year, the number of workers who are arrested for violating the labour system exceeds 20,000 cases, which is a tiring and costly figure to eliminate the absconding worker phenomenon,” added the Ministry of Manpower. “Most cases of absconding employees stemmed from proxy companies that hired workers illegally, or “institutions that are apparently/superficially owned by a citizen, yet in reality owned by an expatriate,” according to the ministry.

“Earlier, we had a OMR100 fine for each sponsor and the new workers, in addition to the ticket cost of the absconding worker who is deported from the country, but procedures have developed over time.

“The penalty for such acts has now increased from OMR100 to OMR 1,000 for the new employer who employs an abscond- ing worker, and OMR800 for that absconding worker,” added the Ministry of Manpower spokesman. “As a result of the new procedures, the number of absconding workers complaints has increased and the value of work permits in the black market has also increased.”

The ministry added that sponsors who report missing workers through the government’s electronic complaint system would not be penalised. However, in case a complaint wasn’t registered, sponsors and employers who are caught in the act would each face a fine of no less than OMR1,000.

The Indian Social Club also advised prospective employees to respect the laws of Oman. T. Bhaskaran, convener of the Malayalam Wing of the ISC, works closely with the Indian Embassy in Oman to help provide amnesty to absconding workers. “Oman is a very safe country, and this is a place that follows the rules very strictly, and that includes the law enforcement officials.

These laws are applied impartially, so expats coming into the country should ensure they come in legally, and not cause problems for either themselves or anyone else, and not break the law.

“It is the sponsor’s duty to renew employment visas but many of them refuse as these expat workers come here and work for someone else,” a social worker said, adding that some employers charged as much as OMR350 to renew employment visas.

Bangladeshis currently make up the largest expatriate community in Oman, with 695,583 Bangladeshi migrants residing in Oman, as of September, 2017, down from 701,916 in August, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information.