Over 8,700 Indian expatriates apply for emergency papers in Dubai

Dubai, June 27 (IANS) Taking advantage of a new amnesty scheme launched by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government for illegal foreign workers, 8,793 expatriate Indians have filed applications for emergency certificates at the Indian mission here.

Over 5,000 applications have been received from Sharjah and over 3,000 from Dubai itself, according to a press statement issued Wednesday by the Indian consulate general.

Earlier this month, the UAE government had set a deadline of three months for all illegal foreign workers to either get legal status to stay in this country or face deportation.

The Indian mission will begin issuing emergency certificates in a phased manner from July 1, according to the statement. Those who had applied for their emergency certificates before the amnesty was announced can collect them from the consulate on July 1.

All those who applied to the various collection centres on June 11 can collect their emergency Certificates from the Indian High School in Dubai on July 1. Those who applied on June 12 can collect their certificates on July 2 and so on.

The mission has also requested all applicants to check the dates on the receipt and report to the Indian High School in Dubai or the Indian Association office in Sharjah on the date indicated on their receipt.

There are around 1.4 million expatriate Indians in Dubai, many of them contract workers.