Official at Shahama centre says only three categories of applicants need to approach centre
Abu Dhabi: The Shahama centre of Abu Dhabi and foreign diplomatic missions in the capital registered a heavy turnout of amnesty-seekers on the second day of amnesty on Thursday.
The embassies of major labour-exporting countries in the UAE also witnessed heavy rush with most amnesty-seekers wishing to stay back in the UAE, senior diplomats told Gulf News on Thursday.
Groups of people at the Shahama centre were told to go back to their embassies, typing and Tasheel centres to start the paper work from there.
Three categories
An official from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship who was supervising the Shahama centre, said only three categories of people are required to approach the centre. Those who want an outpass to exit the country and already obtained a temporary exit paper from their missions, six-month self-visa applicants and tourist/visit visa holders who overstayed and now want to go back to their countries.
Self-visa applicants need to first obtain a paper from the Shahama centre, then complete the process at Tasheel centres and they will get the online visa, he said.
But if they dont have passports, ID cards or any other document to prove their identity, they must go to their missions, obtain temporary exit papers and bring the same to the centre, said the official, who did not give his name.
Those who have court or traffic violation fines or cases need to first clear them and then approach the centre, he said.
He asked families to not bring their children who are below 18 years of age to the centre as they are not required to complete the process. The official made a special mention of this because several people had brought their small children to the centre in the last two days.
Officials did not say how many outpasses have been issued so far.
Diplomatic missions
The majority of Bangladeshis who want to remain in the UAE have received either job offers or some sort of assurance about a new job from employers, said Mohammad Imran, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the UAE. Of the 300 visitors to the embassy here on Thursday, 60 per cent wanted to stay back, he said.
The Philippine Embassy also received around 300 visitors and most of them want to continue here, said Pangilinan Daquipil, chargé daffaires at the embassy.
Of the 20 women applicants [mostly domestic workers] received by the Sri Lankan Embassy, most of them already have got job offers, said A. Sabarullah Khan, chargé daffaires at the embassy.
The Nepalese Embassy received 15 applicants and six of them applied for passport renewal, as they want to apply for a six-month visa, said Sagar Prasad Phuyal, chargé daffaires at the embassy.
Fourteen Indians approached the BLS centres in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and 13 of them applied for emergency certificate and one for passport renewal, said a senior Indian Embassy official.
