Illegal residents seek proper visas - after 38 years

Ajman: A widow and her seven children who have lived illegally in the UAE for 38 years hope their residency issue will be resolved soon.

Fatima Khatun, 59, said her late husband had another wife and family in Bangladesh, so he neglected to legalise the status of his family in the UAE.

She said her husband died three years ago.

"I was married to a man from my own country [Bangladesh]. I have six daughters and one son who were born in Dubai and Ajman," Fatima said.

A senior official from the Ajman Naturalisation and Residency Department (ANRD) told Gulf News on Monday that if the family have valid passports from their country and have birth certificates here and are able to provide other legal documents, then their issue will be considered.

"In such cases, the family's case will be transferred to court. They could pay a fine for staying illegally. The fine will be decided by the court," said colonel Ali Omar, Director General of ANRD.

The woman told Gulf News that her husband had a fruit shop in Ajman. He was a legal resident but he did not ensure his family had residence visas.

All eight have valid Bangladeshi passports, she said.

"My elder daughter was born in a clinic in Dubai in 1972 and my younger daughter [was] born in Ajman in 1990.

"My children are aged 37, 35, 33, 31, 28, 23 and 19," Fatima said.

She said her son was able to work and obtain a valid residence visa in Ajman many years ago.

"All my children stopped school because of our visa problem. We have passports. I am seeking to be sponsored by my son," she said.

Fatima said she did not approach authorities during the amnesty period. The time was given to illegal residents to legalise their residency status or to leave the country without a fine.

Fatima said she was afraid to approach the residency department all this time because she feared deportation.

"My family came here many years ago. I have lived in the UAE since I was [a] child.

"My children were born here. They [have] never been to our country," she said.

"My son can sponsor us."

Fatima said that when she was first married, she was not aware of the residency issue.