Show me the way to go home
Amnesty gets off to flying start
BT team
A filipina mother with three undocumented children was one of the first to apply for relief under the general amnesty which got off to a flying start yesterday with at least 375 illegal expatriates queueing up at their respective embassies.
The 5-month amnesty offer by the government in a bid to regulate the labour market is expected to attract thousands of illegal expats mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and to a lesser extent Thailand.
Most of the embassies have set up special counters to deal with the amnesty-seekers, and are also undertaking awareness campaigns among the respective communities.
Show me the way to go home
Amnesty gets off to flying start
BT team
A filipina mother with three undocumented children was one of the first to apply for relief under the general amnesty which got off to a flying start yesterday with at least 375 illegal expatriates queueing up at their respective embassies.
The 5-month amnesty offer by the government in a bid to regulate the labour market is expected to attract thousands of illegal expats mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and to a lesser extent Thailand.
Most of the embassies have set up special counters to deal with the amnesty-seekers, and are also undertaking awareness campaigns among the respective communities.
On the opening day of the amnesty, India led the rest with about 225 illegal expats (including some 150-odd who had approached the embassy in the past week) submitting applications at the four special counters set up for the purpose. Indians constitute the largest expat chunk in the Kingdom with an estimated 275,000 residing in the country, followed by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis with populations of 76,000 and 70,000 respectively.
The Pakistan embassy received 80 applications on day one while the Bangladesh embassy reported 20 applications. The Sri Lanka and Thailand embassy reported 30 and 20 applications respectively. The Philippines embassy had the lone lady applying for relief for herself and her three kids.
According to initial findings based on talks with illegal expats, most illegals may opt for the amnesty towards the closing stages of the period. This would mean that there would be a rush for amnesty during December, a source told the Tribune.
Meanwhile, Indians availing the amnesty can look forward to discounted fares on Oman Airways. According to a spokesperson, the airline was ready to offer a discount of 15 per cent to destinations where they operate.