India amnesty seekers urged to approach authorities at earliest
Mission issues 2,100 outpasses and 800 passports to undocumented Indians wishing to leave the UAE
■ to remind that the programme runs until the end of October,” Cortes told Gulf News.
“So far, almost 1,000 of our kababayans [from Dubai and the northern emirates] have returned home and have reunified with their loved ones and family. Several other batches of repatriation are being scheduled until the end of the amnesty period,” he said adding many have opted to remain in the UAE.
“Almost 3,500 of our kababayans have applied for their passports in anticipation of the legalisation of their stay in the UAE. Over 12,000 have visited the consulate requesting briefings on the procedures, requirements, and advisories pertinent to the amnesty programme,” Cortes said. He said five more batches of mass repatriations are scheduled this month on October 3, 9, 14, 21 and 28.
In Abu Dhabi, as of September 27, the Philippine Embassy has repatriated 574 Filipinos since the start of the amnesty. ■
The Consul General of India has urged all Indians who want to take advantage of amnesty to approach the relevant authorities at the earliest, and not wait till the last moment.
Nearly 3,000 Indians in Dubai and northern emirates have been assisted by the Indian consulate in Dubai to use the benefits of the ongoing amnesty so far.
Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul on Saturday night said the mission had issued 2,100 ECs (emergency certificates — the one-way travel document commonly referred to as outpass) since the beginning of the amnesty on August 1.
Vipul said the consulate also issued 800 passports during the amnesty period for those undocumented Indians who wish to stay back in the country and secure a new employment visa.
He was speaking at the consulate during a community meeting with India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, who made a stopover in Dubai en route to Chile. “The government of India has allowed us to issue ECs free of cost for amnesty seekers,” Vipul said. He said almost 200 amnesty seekers from the state of Telangana had visited the consulate’s Open House on Friday to seek guidance.
A member of a delegation, which is in Dubai to assist amnesty seekers from the state, said that the state government would sponsor tickets to all amnesty seekers from the state irrespective of their financial viability to purchase the tickets.
“We have identified 500 people who will be leaving. We sent 25 people today [Saturday], About 150 will be leaving in a day or two,” said social worker Kotapati Narasimham Naidu. Speaking to Gulf News later, Vipul said the mission had also issued tickets to the deserving candidates with financial difficulties through the Indian Community Welfare Fund.
He said the mission has also augmented its services for amnesty seekers. The consulate already had two help desks in the mission’s auditorium where junior officials answer queries and advise amnesty seekers about the procedures.
“We now have one more desk where a senior official is posted daily from 12 noon to 1pm to deal with the cases in which people are not satisfied with the response from the other two desks.” He said more applicants are expected to approach the authorities by mid-October, but urged them not to delay it till then. “In several cases, it takes a few days, if not weeks, to resolve their [amnesty seekers] issues,” he said. “Therefore, we would urge all … to approach the relevant authorities at the earliest.”
We now have one more desk where a senior official is posted daily from 12 noon to 1pm to deal with the cases in which people are not satisfied with the response from the other two desks.”
Consul General of India in Dubai
amnesty-seekers’ air tickets sponsored by Telangana government