Deadline announced for Nepalese overstayers

DUBAI - Nepalese expatriates in the UAE who are yet to avail the general amnesty for illegal immigrants have been urged to come forward and seek amnesty until April 20, according to Chandra Prasad Sapkota, a former president of the Nepalese Welfare Society in the UAE, who coordinates with the Nepalese Embassy in Riyadh.

By Ramona Ruiz

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Published: Thu 10 Apr 2003, 11:51 AM

Last updated: Thu 6 Jul 2023, 11:44 AM

Mr Sapkota said that to date about 90 Nepalese illegals have been issued outpasses by the embassy in Riyadh and that he expects 20-25 more amnesty-seekers from the 45,000-strong Nepalese community to benefit from the four-month amnesty.

"There are hardly any Nepalese who enter the country illegally, and most of them are unskilled workers who have absconding due to overdue salaries.


"Others have fled their employers due to payment of lower salaries than the one promised by their employers prior to their employment in the UAE," he explained.

For the illegals to be issued outpasses, they should have valid documents which include a passport copy or an identification card from Nepal.


If these documents are unavailable, they should secure a document from Nepal from their respective district offices which may prove that they are residents of the district.

Amnesty seekers would be asked the cause for running away from their employers and the number of years they had worked with the company.

Mr Sapkota will then contact and meet employers to find out why their employees have been absconding.

"We have to verify everything - the versions of the employee and the employer - before issuing them outpasses. Their documents are sent to Riyadh by courier and in four to five days' time, we receive them. Then the outpasses are issued and the candidates are advised to approach their respective immigration departments for the necessary procedures which include fingerprinting," Mr Sapkota said.

He added that those applying for amnesty on April 20, will be issued outpasses by April 23.

Amnesty-seekers could also contact Mukti Rai in Dubai, Dil G.C. in Sharjah, Suresh Upadhya in Abu Dhabi and Narayan Kharel in Al Ain who have been nominated by the Nepalese Welfare Society in the UAE to assist the community members during the amnesty period.

A resident of Dubai for the last 22 years, Mr Sapkota said that during the general amnesty in 1996, Nepalese illegals seeking clemency were "virtually nil".

This year, over 120 are expected to benefit from the amnesty.

"We would like to thank the UAE government for providing illegal immigrants with this facility. The absconders among the Nepalese community stand to benefit from this amnesty," he said.

Mr Sapkota said that the amnesty seekers could purchase their tickets from Royal Nepal Airlines, TransVia (KLM), Qatar Airways and Gulf Air.

"For those who are unable to pay for their plane fare, the welfare society shall look into their cases before extending assistance to them," he added.


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