Bid to make most of UAE amnesty
The government will send Norka-Roots CEO Noyal Thomas for talks to the UAE on November 28, ahead of the two-month-long general amnesty declared by that country for immigrants without proper visas.
The amnesty offer comes into effect on December 4 and the state government will coordinate with the Indian embassy in the UAE to facilitate the release of thousands of Malayalis languishing in jails without valid visas. The government will also bear their travel expenses under the “Sneha Saphalyam” scheme, sources in the Norka department said.
According to estimates, 40,000 Indians, mostly Malayalis, and a majority of them in jail, are expected to make use of the amnesty offer.
The Norka-Roots CEO will coordinate with Malayali associations in the UAE to give maximum publicity for the scheme so that all those who were facing trouble without valid visas could find a way out.
The Norka (non-resident Keralites Affairs) department, meanwhile, is planning to open legal aid cells in Gulf countries for victims of job fraud and who are facing overstaying cases. “We are trying to create a data base of Malayalis languishing in the Gulf jails and have sought the support of Indian embassy in this,” the sources said.
Around 3,42,000 illegal immigrants (from different countries) had availed of the last amnesty declared by the UAE government in 2007.
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