Dubai: The Indian Consulate in Dubai on Saturday announced it is offering one-stop-shop UAE amnesty services (excluding biometric capturing or fingerprinting), facilitating more than 4,000 service seekers since the two-month grace period for illegal residents began on September 1.
This was done in collaboration with various Indian community organisations and volunteers, the Consul General of India in Dubai Satish Kumar Sivan said at a press conference at the consulate.
“Out of these, we have issued Emergency Certificates [ECs] to leave the country for close to 900 people and Short Valid Passports [SVPs] to about 600 applicants,” he added.
Also called an outpass, the EC is a one-time travel document issued to those who do not hold a valid passport to travel to India while SVPs are issued to those who wish to regularise their visa status to continue to live in the UAE.
• They may also contact the PBSK Helpline at 80046342 which operates 24x7.
• The Amnesty Facilitation Centre at the consulate’s auditorium is open from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and from 8am to 3pm on Saturday.
In the last amnesty period in 2018, Sivan said the Indian Consulate had issued around 4,500 emergency certificates and 2,500 short-validity passports.
“Since we had received enquiries from more than 4,000 people this time, we are expecting the number of applicants to go up in the coming weeks. We urge them not to delay in processing their applications,” he said.
Illegal residents and visitors without valid residency documents have time until October 31 to either regularise their visa status or leave the country without any fines or immigration ban.
Sivan said the consulate has been operating Facilitation Centres at the mission and at the Al Awir amnesty centre of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) to assist Indian citizens in availing themselves of the benefits of the ongoing UAE visa amnesty initiative.
Exit permits, comprehensive services
He said the consulate has also helped with the issuance of around 550 exit permits from the immigration authorities with the support of volunteers from the Aim India Forum (AIF), a community group supporting Indians in distress.
Highlighting that such services - usually provided at Amer centres or Al Awir amnesty centre - are also now available at the mission, he thanked Shaikh Muzaffer, founder president of AIF, and his team from the organisation for facilitating this service at the Amnesty Facilitation Centre set up in the consulate’s auditorium.
“What we have done is to provide end-to-end services to our nationals,” the Consul General said.
Apart from issuing the exit permits, Sivan said various counters at the consulate provide comprehensive services including those related to lost passport report, labour cancellation, technical ticket for Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), immigration cancellation, merging multiple UIDs, etc.
“Only those who require to provide their biometrics need to visit the Al Awir Amnesty Centre. Indian nationals seeking amnesty can complete the rest of the procedures here at the consulate,” he explained.
The Consulate is also offering its services through the Facilitation Centre in Al Awir.
Cheap tickets, jobs
The mission has also tied up with airlines such as Air India, Air India Express and Indigo to provide discounted flight tickets for amnesty seekers. The airlines are offering up to 25 per cent discounts to those exiting the UAE with an exit permit. Air India and Air India Express have set up their exclusive ticketing counters at the consulate while the special amnesty fares are available through their city booking offices as well.
“We also have companies which have put up stalls to provide job offers to amnesty seekers,” said Sivan, assuring to provide details of those who received jobs by the end of the amnesty period.
Free of charge
Sivan also thanked the community groups and Indian philanthropists who are also offering free air tickets as well as food and other support to amnesty seekers.
He said all government of India services and photographs are offered free of charge to amnesty seekers.
Service fees are waived off for those seeking SVPs through the centres of the BLS International, the outsourced service provider for Indian passport services, where amnesty applicants can also walk in, instead of booking appointments.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) under the consulate is also providing free legal counselling for amnesty seekers among others.
The Consul General urged eligible Indian citizens in Dubai and the northern emirates to take advantage of the amnesty programme to legalise their stay without any delay.
