PASSPORTS SUBMITTED TO INDIAN MISSION
SHARJAH — The Sharjah immigration department has handed over 1,200 Indian passports to the ConsulateGeneral of India in Dubai. These are passports of expats that were deposited with the immigration department by their employers. Prem Chand, consul for passport, attestation and community welfare, said the consulate would be uploading the names of the passport holders on its website (http:// www.cgidubai.gov. in/). Dhanusha Gokulan
SHARJAH — Revising its earlier decision, the Sharjah General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has announced that it would receive applications from Pakistani and Bangladeshi absconders without passports. A top official from the GDRFA in Sharjah told Khaleej
Times on Tuesday that it would set up a tent with a capacity of 500 people for this purpose.
On Monday, the Sharjah immigration centre had advised absconded non-Arab amnestyseekers without valid passports to collect their documents from their diplomatic missions after its amnesty tents saw a heavy influx of people seeking to benefit from the ongoing visa amnesty scheme called ‘Protect Yourself by Modifying Your Status’, which began on August 1.
The authority had said that it had handed over the passports — submitted by the illegal residents’ employers — to the respective consulates.
Colonel Hazeem bin Falah Al Suwaidi, director of the department of entry and residence permits at the GDRFA in Sharjah, told Khaleej Times that the Sharjah immigration centre will receive applications and distribute passports of Bangladeshi and Pakistani absconders at the special tent that will be set up outside the immigration department.
He added that the department had referred some of the passports to Bangladeshi consulate, but officials there requested the department to distribute the passports to Bangladeshi nationals due to “technical issues” and “to ensure smooth distribution”. He added that when the Bangladeshi diplomatic mission hands over all passports to the Sharjah immigration, it will take the necessary steps to distribute the passports to the eligible applicants.
He said that the immigration department will also handle the procedures for the Pakistani amnesty-seekers when their mission hands over their passports. The number of Pakistani applicants are not so huge, he said. He added that the procedure for distributing the passports will be determined later.
He said that the immigration centre is keen to facilitate the amnesty programme and help people modify their status. The officials are conducting field visits and meeting people to help them benefit from the three-month long amnesty programme.