Abu Dhabi: A job fair in Abu Dhabi will offer new opportunities to Indian amnesty-seekers who want to continue working in the UAE.
The Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC), the largest Indian social organisation in the capital, is organising the job fair in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, September 16, from 9am to 2pm.
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi is facilitating the event as part of its initiative to help the Indian amnesty-seekers looking for a job, Navdeep Singh Suri, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News on Sunday.
“We expect 10 to 15 employers [at the job fair] will conduct on the spot interviews,” Suri said.
All Indian amnesty-seekers from across the UAE are welcome to attend the event, he said.
Earlier the embassy had requested the candidates to approach the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (formerly IWRC, the embassy’s support centre for Indians).
The job fair is an additional step to offer an opportunity for all candidates to attend job interviews, the envoy said.
Ramesh Panicker, president of the ISC, said the event was only for amnesty-seekers and other job seekers would not be entertained. He said mostly skilled jobs would be on offer.
The Indian embassy had earlier said the number of Indians seeking the visa amnesty had been very low, compared to other Asian nationalities.
Only 349 Indians approached the BLS International, the embassy’s outsourced agent for consular services, in Abu Dhabi Emirate as of Sunday, a senior official told Gulf News.
Most of them [280] applied for travel documents [emergency certificates/ ECs] and the embassy had already issued 272 ECs.
Of the 69 applications for passport renewals, 62 renewed passports were also issued, he said. These figures do not include Indian amnesty seekers in Dubai and Northern Emirates, which come under the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
Amnesty-seekers who do not have a valid passport have to first get an E.C. from the embassy to go back home, or obtain a new passport to get a six-month visa or new job visa.
People who entered the UAE on a visa, but later became undocumented, can also visit their embassies in Abu Dhabi, provided they have any ID document issued by the UAE authorities and want to leave the country.
All others to approach the Amnesty Centre or Tasheel centres to process their applications in Abu Dhabi.
The Indian Embassy had announced its initiative to help the amnesty-seekers who want to get a job on August 8.
“Some large UAE-based Indian companies have come forward very generously to offer employment, if skill sets of amnesty-seekers match for their available vacancies,” the ambassador had said at a press conference.
He said some employers are even ready to offer hundreds of jobs, if there are suitable candidates.
He told Gulf News on August 13 that hundreds of Indians in the UAE responded within five days, however, only 12 of them were amnesty-seekers. The rest of them were people on visit visa, and residents who were unhappy about their existing jobs.
About the hundreds of other Indians seeking jobs, the envoy said the embassy is not in a position to help them. “We cannot substitute the normal employment channels,” Suri said.
Job fair details
■ What: Job fair for Indian amnesty-seekers
■ Where: The Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC), Al Mina area, Abu Dhabi\
■ When: Sunday, September 16, from 9am to 2pm
■ Who is eligible: Indians still seeking amnesty and others who already have a six months visa for job search
■ Documents required: Latest CV, experience certificate, copied of passport and visa.
■ Note: Event exclusively for amnesty-seekers; other jobseekers will not be entertained.
