RESCUE FOR SINGLE MOTHERS, DISTRESSED WORKERS

A Filipina domestic worker, who spoke under anonymity, said she wanted to leave the country but her sponsor reported her and contributed to putting her name on the blacklist.

She worked for the sponsor for four years and wanted to seek another job after the contract was over.

“He asked me to send him Dh10,000, and I didn’t have that sum of money. When I refused, he put me on the blacklist,” said the worker, who has been a UAE resident for seven years. As a result, she overstayed for two years with fines accumulating to over Dh36,000.

While officials waived off the fines, they are still checking with the police to ensure that she has no criminal record before removing her name from the blacklist.

“I already have a job offer, so I will modify my status and start my life all over again,” she said.

Palestinian-Syrian resident Rolla Saad said she lost her job in November, which caused her two daughters’ visa to be cancelled.

“It’s only in May when I found a new job, but I still couldn’t pay for the fines that reached to over Dh25,000,” said Saad, a single mother of two.

She said the visa amnesty came as a relief that saved her from financial burden. “I wish all other countries would follow a similar path of giving chances and making people’s lives easier. I pray the UAE moves from a glory to the next,” said Saad.

Previous amnesties in 2007 and 2013 resulted in over 340,000 residents with expired visas taking advantage of the grace period. Officials are expecting a rise in numbers of applicants over the next few weeks.