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40,000 Indians expected to use UAE amnesty >From Indo-Asian News Service Dubai, Jan 3 (IANS) Nearly 40,000 Indians are expected to avail themselves of an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from January 1, but the rush is yet to pick up. Indian officials told IANS their embassy was yet to see a rush of Indian workers seeking emergency certificates (ECs), as this is a holiday period locally, and the mass migration is expected to begin next week. About 35,000 to 40,000 Indians residing illegally in the UAE are expected to exit the country during the four-month amnesty period. A similar amnesty in 1996 saw an exodus of 50,000 Indians. The UAE has announced the long-awaited amnesty for illegal immigrants, which will allow them to leave the country without facing punishment or fine. The amnesty began on January 1 and will conclude on April 30. The Indian consulate in Dubai has extended its working hours to expedite the process of issuing ECs and travel permits, facilitating the exodus. Indian Consul General George Joseph said the consulate had received over 3,000 applications for ECs -- a one-time, one-way passport for people who have no valid documents to authenticate their identity as Indians -- and travel permits. He said as it takes time to process applications, it was in the best interest of Indians who have no valid proof of their identity to apply as fast as possible. The consulate has teamed up with Indian welfare associations throughout the emirates to set up mini-missions or centres from where EC and travel permit applications can be forwarded to the consulate. The consulate as well as the Indian embassy will issue standard computer-generated ECs, cutting down on the time-consuming and cumbersome procedures that were involved earlier. Indian Airlines and Air-India have also set up their counters within the premises of the Indian consulate in Dubai to offer concessional airfares to those seeking amnesty. At least 300,000 illegal immigrants are expected to leave the UAE under the second amnesty to have been officially declared since 1996. In 1996, about 200,000 illegal immigrants left under the amnesty, which continued for six months. The amnesty seekers belong to three categories -- those who have overstayed, those absconding from sponsors and those who have entered the country illegally. The UAE will out phasing out a total of 240,000 private sector workers, who do not have proper educational qualifications, by focusing on labour and recruitment policies, reports said. Illiterate and under-qualified workers form 13.9 percent of the current expatriate workforce. Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) states are working hard to cut their dependence on expatriates through jobs-for-nationals programmes but will have to continue relying on foreign workers for the next one or two decades. The AGCC states now have a combined population of around 27 million, of which expatriates account for 35 percent, with a high of around 75 percent in the UAE and Qatar. Bahrain has about 30 percent expatriates, while they account for 56 percent in Kuwait and 27 percent each in Oman and Saudi Arabia. --Indo-Asian News Service WANT TO check out which mailing lists you could subscribe to? Send a blank email message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========================================================================
