Colonel Nassir Al Awadi Al Menhali, Director of Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency Department, said that 3,007 illegal workers had left the capital during the amnesty so far and 1,864 had obtained exit permit. So far, 3,110 illegals have reguralised their status since the announcment of amnesty.
According to Deemas, about 60,000 illegals had got their visas cancelled until July 15 this year. “The amnesty period will not be extended, but workers who have completed the cancellation procedures can leave even after the amnesty ends on September 2, if they do not get airline bookings before September 2,” he added.
“The MoL collected Dh420 million in fines imposed during the last 18 months on companies for expired labour cards and other violations of labour laws,” he said.
Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi, Assistant Undersecretary in the MoL, said, “The workers’ response to the amnesty is very poor as most of them prefer to come to the concerned authorities in the last days. There are more than 300,000 labourers staying in the country illegally.”
