UAE visa amnesty: Expat spends night outside GDRFA 'holding on to hope' to fly home

For Pakistani expat Hamza Gul, August 31 was the longest night as he spent it waiting outside the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) - Dubai centre in Al Awir. He rested on a bedsheet, spread on the ground under a tree, with his suitcase as his companion.

For Gul, the first rays of September 1 is not just the start of a new day but of a new chapter in his life, as the UAE's amnesty programme finally offers him a chance to regularise his status and return home after months of hardship.

Gul said that September 1 is the luckiest date for him. “It was on September 1 last year that I arrived in the UAE, full of hope for a better future. Now, exactly one year later, I hope to be free from this nightmare," said the 25-year-old expat.

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Once employed as a cleaner in Dubai, Gul's life took a devastating turn four months ago when he was terminated from his job. Without any savings and nowhere to stay, he found himself relying on the kindness of friends for a few days and spent many nights on the streets. “This is not my first night on the street. I have been staying at friends’ places whenever I could, and when that wasn’t possible, I have slept on the roads,” said Gul.

After he got fired, Gul was desperate to find a job and turned to an agent who promised him a new job. “The agent demanded Dh600 in fees, assuring me that my visa was still valid and that I could remain in the UAE legally. However, this promise turned out to be a lie,” said Gul. After a few months, he found out that his visa had been cancelled, leaving him "as an illegal resident in the country".

“The agent kept giving me false hope, and I realised too late that my visa had been cancelled,” said Gul. “I have been wandering from place to place just to survive. It’s been a tough journey.”

Despite the immense challenges he has faced, Gul is determined to make the most of the opportunity that the UAE amnesty offers. As he sat outside the GDRFA, he reflected on the importance of this moment. “This one night was very long. It kept reminding me of struggles since I was terminated,” he said. The first thing he plans to do as soon as the amnesty tent opens in the morning is to secure an exit permit to return to Pakistan.

However, returning home comes with its own set of challenges for Gul. “I had borrowed money from people back in Pakistan to come to the UAE. They are waiting for me to arrive in Pakistan to get their money back, but I don’t have any money left to repay. I have repaid as much as I could,” said Gul.

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