Consulate ready to assist Filipinos overstaying in UAE

Officers and staff at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai are ready to assist overstaying and undocumented Filipinos who will avail of the general amnesty for violators of the UAE's residency law, consul-general Paul Raymund Cortes said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Under the initiative called 'Protect Yourself via Rectifying Your Status,' all foreigners violating the residency regulation are given a three-month grace period, beginning on August 1, to either leave the country voluntarily without prosecution or rectify their legal status by paying the required fees.
Cortes said that the Philippine Consulate has already been flooded with inquiries since the announcement was made last week but they are still waiting for specific details and implementing guidelines from the authorities so they can disseminate all the information to their kababayans (countrymen).
"We cannot give any specific advice yet to our kababayans who are planning to avail of the amnesty but we are sure that many will take advantage of this opportunity to rectify their visa status and legalise their stay in the UAE," Cortes told Khaleej Times.
Based on official figures, the last general immigration amnesty in 2013 benefited 61,826 expats belonging to various nationalities.
Cortes also assured that funds are available for those who would like to be repatriated back home. He said that the Philippine government has allocated Peso1 billion (Dh68.9M ) at the start of the year, as assistance to the nationals (ATN) fund for all Filipino expats worldwide. This repatriation fund can be tapped by the diplomatic post in Dubai to buy airplane tickets for returning Filipinos.
Cortes added that a special team will be formed to handle the cases of overstaying Filipinos like how the Consulate did back in 2013. "With regards to sending them back home, the sequence of repatriation will be dependent on who will get clearance first from the authorities," he explained.
Meanwhile, returning Filipinos can also avail of the Balik Pilipinas! Balik Hanapbuhay! (BPBH) package for returning OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), Atty. Felicitas Bay, Philippine Labour Attaché to Dubai and Northern Emirates, told Khaleej Times in a separate interview.
She said the program is available to all active and inactive OWWA members but the approval is subject to evaluation by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which is an agency of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The OWWA program is designed for OFWs who are staying in the Philippines for good. The package includes business training, starter kits and cash assistance amounting to Peso20,000 (Dh1,400) to OFWs for them to start their own business in the Philippines. The BPBH is different from the reintegration loan program of OWWA, wherein an OFW is entitled to a loan amount of Peso2,000,000 (Dh140,000) which is payable in seven years.
According to OWWA, the BPBH gives "a profound opportunity for OFWs to start something new in the Philippines." Those who would like to apply can visit the official website of OWWA. (http://www.owwa.gov.ph/)
Package for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
>Peso20,000 (Dh1,400) financial assistance
>Business development training
>Market linkages from the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture
Who are eligible for the Balik Pilipinas! Balik Hanapbuhay
>Active/inactive OWWA members
>OFWs who have returned to the Philippines for good
>Those who are victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment
>Those who have worked for employers and experienced financial problems
> Filipino migrants displaced from work due to war
>OFWs who have experienced distressing situations while working abroad
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