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200 illegal expats sought status change in 2 days in Sharjah

Sharjah - "There is no need to tell any lie, just tell the officials your situation and they will find a solution."

More than 200 people without any official documents, mainly female domestic helps, have approached the Sharjah immigration in two days to avail of as part of the ongoing 'Protect Yourself by Modifying Your Status' initiative, which began on August 1.
 
Lt. Col. Faris Mohammed Al Mazrouei, representative of Sharjah Police General Headquarters at the Sharjah Police, said: "In two days, we saw more than 200 violators, mainly female domestic help workers, who came without any official documents such as passport or identity card. Some of them just wrote their names in papers and submitted their applications."
 
Lt.Col. Al Mazrouei added that the police can check the legal status using a passport copy, with which they can go to their diplomatic missions concerned and complete the procedures to modify the residency status. And if the person have no documents, the police will get their iris scan print and can find copy of their IDs or passports if they lost it.
 
He said that those who do not have passport can also file a complaint with the police in order to get a clearance certificate for replacement. And then they can go to go to diplomatic missions to get a travel document or passport. He pointed out that in the case of someone losing the passport, a report will be made through smart application, and within 48 hours the passport will be extracted.
 
He added that charity organisations like Sharjah Charity Association are ready to offer help to the illegals who wish to avail of the three-month long amnesty programme, either by paying fees or providing tickets for them to return home.
 
"There is no need to tell any lie, just tell the officials your situation and they will find a solution."
 
Colonel Ali Amin, director of facilities department at the Sharjah General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), told Khaleej Times that people who approach the Sharjah immigration centres will be provided with all help, The official added that they expect more people would visit the GDRFA centres in the coming days without any hesitation and fear to legalise their status after knowing more about the hassle-free process to modify their situation or to leave voluntarily from the country.
 
He said that many people approached the department without bringing any documents and the majority were absconding workers. He added that if a person was reported absconded, he / she is supposed to contact the police and then visit the diplomatic missions to get the passports, If the passport is expired and needed a renewal, they should get an out pass from the diplomatic missions to leave the country.
 
 
Main challenge
 
 
Colonel Hazeem bin Falah Al Suwaidi, director of the department of entry and residence permits at the GDRFA in Sharjah, praised the efforts of the police, diplomatic missions, media and immigration officials who are handling the procedures without causing any kind of delay. He added that the violators should complete the procedures on time so that many people can benefit from the December 31 deadline to leave the country without any fine.
 
Talking about the challenges in the amnesty programme, Col Al Suwaidi said that most of the workers do not understand the procedures as they find it difficult to communicate with the department officials despite the availability of representatives of several diplomatic missions, who come to help their nationals. He urged the missions to focus on availability of translators and for rapid issuance of passports and identification papers so that the illegal residents can take advantage of the initiative and change their status within the grace period without paying any fine.
 
The amnesty programme which began on August 1 will end on October 31.
 
amira@khaleejtimes.com