Thanks three million … family has 34 years of visa fines forgiven
▶ Embassies of Asian states warn UAE-bound jobseekers of hazards
Once faced with a Dh3 million debt, Najm Abdul Rashid and his family are among those who have had their lives turned around during the three-month visa amnesty.
Mr Abdul Rashid’s wife had never been provided with identity documents by her parents, who were here legally but are now deceased.
That means Noorjahan, now 38, from Pakistan, had been living in the UAE without a visa for 34 years.
So had her children, aged 21, 19, 17 and 6. They were rejected by schools and had to be educated at home, said Mr Abdul Rashid, 46, who holds a Bangladeshi passport.
“I tried to get passports for my daughters but was not successful because their mother didn’t have one,” he said.
“I was back and forth to the Pakistani embassy to get my wife a passport and was successful only five years ago.”
Then Mr Abdul Rashid faced a new problem. Legalising his family’s residency status meant that he would have to pay a large sum in fines.
Immigration officers in Ajman told him his family’s debt exceeded Dh3m.
“How could I ever pay that on my Dh5,000 salary?” Mr Abdul Rashid asked.
But thanks to the amnesty, he and his family have been absolved of the debt.
More than 10,000 people have sought help to restore their residency status, with many more expected by the end of the amnesty on October 31.
As the first wave who chose to leave the country are about to fly home, embassies are reminding job seekers to be aware of the pitfalls of working overseas.
The Indian ambassador warned that unscrupulous employment agents lure people to the UAE with the promise of jobs that never materialise, leading to exploitation.
Domestic work is popular for those from developing countries and the UAE is seeking to further protect their rights. It has signed an agreement with Ethiopia to improve working conditions for those who work here.
Unscrupulous employment agents are driving up the number of foreign nationals who are falling foul of UAE visa regulations, the Indian ambassador said.
The lure of often fictional well-paid jobs promised to manual workers by agents from some South-East Asian countries can lead to people being exploited once here, Navdeep Singh Suri said.
As the first cohort of workers whose visas have expired prepare to be flown back home with consular help, embassies in the UAE are reminding those travelling here of the potential pitfalls of working without a visa.
So far, more than 10,000 people have sought help to restore their legal status in the country, with more expected between now and the end of the amnesty on October 31.
“We recognise when it comes to women domestic workers, there’s a demand problem,” Mr Singh Suri said. “But there’s also a problem in India because of unscrupulous recruitment agents making all sorts of promises to workers.
“When they come overseas they feel disappointed at the gap between promise and reality. The embassy has approached state governments in regions where people may be at a high risk of coming to the UAE in conditions under which they could fall through the system.”
Official figures show that there are about 3.1 million Indians living in the UAE. Despite the high number, however, only 1,300 have so far come forward to seek assistance in Dubai under the amnesty scheme.
Embassy officials say this is largely because of a continuing outreach programme where regular work with community groups and prison visits has identified domestic workers as a high-risk group.
The Indian embassy said it maintained parallel talks with UAE authorities to close loopholes that allow tourist visits to be converted to employment visas.
“If you were to do a breakdown of the data of those we have repatriated to India using Indian community welfare funds over the past year and a half, for example, you’d find a disproportionately large number of women domestic workers in that category,” Mr Singh Suri said.
Sri Lanka missions at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai are assisting their nationals who wish to use the amnesty for visa overstays and illegal residencies.
Officials are regularly visiting the amnesty camps for Sri Lankan nationals seeking assistance to legitimise their stay, or to return home.
The embassy in Abu Dhabi is receiving about 50 people a day seeking help with the amnesty provisions, with more asking for help in Dubai.
More than 100,000 Sri Lankans live and work in UAE, with a similar number visiting for job hunting, family visits, business and tourism.
Engineering, construction, hospitality, paramedical and unskilled domestic and industrial sectors are the most common jobs, officials said.
“The Sri Lankan government treats illegal employment as a serious offence and those who abuse the visa regimes of various countries will be subject- ed to the law of the country,” said Sabarullah Khan, charge d’ affaires at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
“The Sri Lanka missions in the UAE advise those who are visiting for job seeking not to violate their visa regulations. Working while on a tourist visa and overstaying a visa period are punishable offences.”
Indonesia is another country with domestic workers, although figures are not available.
Most seeking help in Dubai are from the Philippines, with consul general Paul Cortes playing a major role with regular briefings on how nationals can find help.
Those choosing to fly home with travel expenses paid by the Philippine government are leaving today.
Other countries from the South-East Asia region reported little demand from their nationals.
Speaking at a Dubai event to mark the 52nd anniversary of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, Dato’ Yubazlan Yusof, consul general of Malaysia, said most nationals were skilled workers.
“We have between 6,000 and 7,000 Malaysians working in the UAE and they are mostly professionals. So far we have had very few problems,” he said.
“There has only been one request from a Malaysian national, but they have some other issues to resolve first before we can get involved.
“Malaysians can’t come to the UAE on a tourist visa and then apply for a resident’s visa, so they are less likely to get into difficulty.”
Unnop Buranasate, consul general of Thailand, said: “Thai people cannot switch from a tourist visa to a working visa. It is not easy and there are only about 8,000 Thais in the UAE. We have not had to deal with any issues yet.”
There’s also a problem in India because of unscrupulous agents making all sorts of promises to workers NAVDEEP SINGH SURI Indian Ambassador to the UAE