Over 7,000 Filipinos avail of amnesty

Philippine government bore costs of exit fees, repatriation amounting to Dh7.8 million

Nearly 7,500 Filipinos have taken advantage of the amnesty since August, more than half of whom, however, have chosen to stay in the UAE, a diplomat said.

The UAE began its amnesty programme on August 1. Last week the amnesty was extended till December 1.

Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes yesterday said both missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have repatriated nearly 3,000 Filipinos since August, while more than 4,300 have chosen to legalise their status by getting a jobseeker’s visa or a sponsor.

“Many had lived in the UAE for an average of five to six years. Many of them had children here, with no papers or history of availing health services. Others sponsored their kids to stay here, but lost their jobs and became unable to renew their visas,” Cortes said.

A total of 200 Filipinos will be repatriated from Dubai on November 11, the biggest batch so far since the amnesty programme began.

The Philippine government shouldered the cost of all the exit fees and lifting of absconding fees of the nearly 3,000 repatriates, including their one-way tickets to Manila and their final destination, plus $100 (Dh367) cash welfare assistance, totalling about Dh7.8 million.

This assistance comes from the one billion pesos (Dh69.6 million) Assistance-To-Nationals Fund for 2018 from the Department of Foreign Affairs for overseas Filipinos worldwide. It is funded using taxpayers’ money.