UAE | Employment
Early efforts 'have curbed illegal Pakistani expats'
Pakistani missions have repatriated 5,000 expatriates over the last eight months and do not expect a heavy rush of illegal workers wanting to go home during the three-month amnesty period declared by the UAE.
- By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:38 May 3, 2009
- Illegal Pakistani workers queue up at the Pakistan consulate to collect outpass after the UAE government granted a three-month amnesty period to adjust their residency status.
- Image Credit: Devadasan/Gulf News
Dubai: Pakistani missions have repatriated 5,000 expatriates over the last eight months and do not expect a heavy rush of illegal workers wanting to go home during the three-month amnesty period declared by the UAE.
"We received about 150 applications from illegal [Pakistani residents] during the first three days of the amnesty [period] and it is much lower than what we expected," noted Naveed Elahi, Passport Counsellor at the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai.
He said the number of illegal Pakistani workers has decreased considerably over the last few months because the Pakistani mission in Dubai has been issuing outpasses, or temporary travel documents, to facilitate repatriation of the illegal workers.
"The number of applicants seeking repatriation increased over the last eight months since the local authorities relaxed rules for the illegal expatriates who want to go back," he noted.
Relaxed rules
Elahi explained: "Earlier, we used to issue outpasses only to those referred by the jail authorities but later the procedure was simplified and we were authorised to issue outpasses to illegal expatriates approaching the missions.
"It encouraged more [of them] to ... go back to their country."
Crackdown by Pakistan government on agents involved in human trafficking during the recent months has also helped to reduce the number of illegal expatriates in the UAE.
He said the number of illegal Pakistani expatriates were curtailed because around 5,000 have already been repatriated during the last eight months.
The Passport Counsellor in Dubai said a special team has been formed following directions from Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai, to facilitate people during the three-month amnesty period announced by the UAE government.
The Pakistani Consul General has also recommended the Islamabad government to conduct short courses for workers coming to the UAE and other Gulf countries.
"Apart from vocational training, they need to know etiquettes about how to dress up, how to behave on roads, beaches, shopping centres and even how to cross a road," he added.
Most importantly, he said, the workers would be educated on problems of having illegal status in foreign countries.
Share this article
Related Articles
-
Nepalese official says worker rights essential
Nepalese official says worker rights essential
-
Legal workers think amnesty is free holiday ticket
Legal workers think amnesty is free holiday ticket
-
Jail term and fine for sheltering illegals
Two months in jail and Dh100,000 fine for sheltering illegals
-
Salary to be paid to banks in future
Salary paid in banks ensures worker rights
-
India sets up visa amnesty centres
Indian mission sets up 11 centres in preparation for three-month amnesty
-
Officials split on joint policy in hiring maids
Officials split on unified GCC stance in negotiations for hiring maids
-
Youngsters to get part-time work permits
Youngsters to get part-time work permits
-
Don't fall prey to agents, expats warned
Illegal expats warned about falling prey to agents
-
Hundreds throng embassies and consulates
Hundreds throng Asian embassies and consulates for info on general pardon
More from UAE Employment
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Have your say
Living in untidy homes
Do you think that people who live in untidy homes have bad character?
Latest news
- Khalifa congratulates Karzai on re-election
- Khalifa receives congratulatory call from Talabani
- Complaints against cab drivers decline
- Camel in RAK gives birth to twins
- No hike in water, electricity rates
- Thalassaemia website 'will help educate youth'
- Saif is appointed Emiratisation chief
- Experts call for reviewing green cost of desalination
- Readers: Less water usage means less desalination
- Dubai Police open centre to combat marine pollution
- Pavement parking irks pedestrians
- Man jailed 3 years in fatal assault of colleague
- Murder: Mother gets stiffer sentence
- Traffic Prosecution adopts humanitarian step
- 'All-green' project to ease traffic flow
Community Reports
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas
-
Community report: Doing their bit for poor children
A group of students takes concrete action to raise funds for Dubai Cares
