The amnesty extended by the United Arab Emirates(UAE) to the Indians illegally staying in the country ends on 31 December 2018, that is today, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
As per information furnished by the Minister of State of External Affairs Gen.(Retd) V K Singh in the Parliament on Friday, the amnesty in the UAE was declared for 3 months from August 01, 2018 till October 31, 2018. It was extended up to November 30, 2018 and then further till December 31, 2018.
"The individuals who are staying illegally can regularize their visas by getting a new sponsor and paying the prescribed fees," Singh told Rajya Sabha, the Upper House, while replying to a question posed by K C Ramamurthy, the Congress MP from state of Karnataka.
The minister said through the provisions of the Amnesty Scheme the UAE Government aims to assist the illegal immigrants with several options.
"Those who wish to exit the country can approach the UAE Immigration directly and get exit permit without ban by paying the prescribed fees," the minister added.
"Those who entered the country illegally without any valid documents, can get exit clearance with two years' ban by paying the prescribed fees," he said.
"If there is an absconding report against a person, the Immigration will remove absconding report against him and on payment of prescribed fees will issue exit permit without ban," he said.
The minister said the UAE Government is also facilitating the amnesty seekers by providing them a 6-months temporary job seekers visa with which they can legally stay in UAE and search for a job. Job seekers will also have an opportunity to look for employment by registering in the virtual job market available on the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
Also, to enable the Indian Missions to meet contingency expenditure incurred by them for carrying out various on-site welfare activities for the most deserving cases of overseas Indian Citizens who are in distress, Government of India has established the Indian Community Welfare Fund(ICWF), the minister said.
He said the ministry can not ascertain the number of illegal Indians staying in UAE because it "cannot be quantified as no clear data in this regard is provided by the host governments."