Undocumented Filipinos urged to avail of UAE amnesty program

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has called on undocumented Filipinos staying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to take advantage of the amnesty program being implemented by the Gulf state.

“We urge our kababayans in the UAE who have overstayed or have absconded from their employers to take advantage of this program,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement on Wednesday.

The DFA also extended its gratitude to the UAE for giving as many as 30,000 Filipinos the opportunity to either correct their immigration status or return to the Philippines.

Raymond Cortez, consul general in Dubai, said the three-month amnesty program will begin on August 1 until October 31, 2018 for all foreigners who have violated the UAE’s immigration laws.

Foreign nationals who will avail the amnesty program will be exempted from fines and immigration penalties and will not be banned from re-entering the Gulf state.

“Those who have police records and cases filed against them will have to resolve their cases first before availing themselves of the program,” Cortez said.

Qualified immigrants must apply at the Emirate which issued their most recent visa to avail of the amnesty program before choosing whether to return to their country or legalize their immigration status and be allowed to stay for six months.

Filipinos who want to remain in UAE and legalize their status must have a valid Philippine passport and pay a fee prescribed by the country, according to Chargé d’Affaires Rowena Pangilinan-Daquipil of the Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Those who opted to leave the UAE and return home to the Philippines and do not have passports will be issued a one-way travel document. Meanwhile, those who wish to stay but do not have a valid passport will be allowed to renew or replace their passport. /je