Dubai: The Dh60 charge being levied by the Indian mission’s outsourcing centres for emergency certificates is likely to be waived, a top official told XPRESS.
K. Kumar, Convenor of the Indian Community Welfare Committee under the Indian Consulate, said: “Earlier, applicants had to pay Dh20 for an emergency certificate. But the cost went up when the Government of India revised charges of all consular services. Now that the amnesty is here and the local authorities have decided to waive all charges, we have also requested our government to waive the charge. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has taken this up seriously and I am confident that the charges will be waived any day now.”
As the 60-day amnesty got underway on Tuesday, illegal immigrants flocked to designated centres across the UAE to seek exit permits, with all fines being waived.
Although 40,000 Indians are expected to grab the opportunity, the Indian mission’s outsourcing BLS centres were yet to see a huge turnout of outpass applicants. “We haven’t had a heavy rush yet. Probably, people are waiting to see if the charges on the emergency certificate will be waived,” said Kumar.
At the BLS centre in Al Khaleej Centre at Bur Dubai, three counters were earmarked for receiving outpass applications.
“We will open more counters as the number of people picks up,” said one official on condition of anonymity. Those with valid passports were advised to approach local immigration authorities directly for regularisation of stay or exit formalities.
Some outpass applicants expressed reservations about the Dh60 outpass fee and the Dh9 service charge they had to pay. “How can we afford to pay when we are in such a bad state?” asked one applicant.
“They charge for value-added services even otherwise. We have to pay Dh15 for form filling and Dh20 for a photograph. This is too much,” he said.
“I heard there is a chance of the outpass fee being lifted. I will come on another day,” said another applicant.
