The extended duration of amnesty drive in the UAE that began on June 3, 2007 will end tomorrow i.e. November 3, 2007. More than 286,000 illegal workers have complied with the amnesty deadline.

The amnesty drive was aimed at making illegal workers in the UAE either legalize their status or leave the country. The official paperwork regarding amnesty has ended yesterday in most of the emirates. However, the drive will technically end tomorrow after which strict legal action will be taken against violators of labour and residency laws along with their sponsors.

Even non-departure before November 3 will result in legal action against the violator and his/her sponsor. Strict penalties will be implemented from Sunday, November 4, 2007. There will be country-wide inspections to track individually sponsored workers such as domestic helps and drivers. Organizations and commercial establishments will also not be spared.

Plans are in the offing for a collaborative effort among concerned government bodies such as the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Interior, chamber of commerce, municipalities and free zones in order to come up with a plan to further the aims of the drive. A timetable and plan of action will be formulated for surprise inspections to trace illegal workers still left in the country. In this regard, the security aspect of inspectors will also be duly taken care of.

According to the statistics with Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department, more than 90,000 applications for regularisation and over 157,000 exit passes were processed before October 8, 2007. The amnesty drive began on June 2, 2007 and ended on September 2, 2007. A grace period of two months was further added to the time frame. This was an opportunity for illegal workers living in Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE to correct their status without facing any penalty.

Amnesty programme drawing to a close