The Emirates called for strengthening the international humanitarian response and providing urgent relief to those in need
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A UAE-based expat has expressed his gratitude to his "guardian and angel" -- an immigration officer who went above and beyond the call of duty -- to help him and his family return home in an emergency, working long past his shift and even offering money from his own pocket for the trip.
Indian national Mohammed Sadiqe's troubles began on August 14, as he was preparing to take a flight from RAK International Airport to Calicut, where his wife's grandmother lay in hospital.
After completing the check-in procedure and reaching the immigration desk, he was told that his daughter's visa was displaying as having been cancelled from February, with a Dh3,800 fine incurred for overstaying until August. The visa, however, said it was valid through July 2018.
"The lady at the counter was surprised and called for the manager in charge. A Mr. Fahad walked in, and even he was surprised, and concluded this could be a system error," he told Khaleej Times. "He called the immigration officer in Dubai and they said that the sponsor -- myself -- had to go to DXB and sort out the issue, as it could have been a system error during an upgrade process."
"The entire thought of meeting her (his wife's) grandmother was draining, and my wife was in tears, as we were not sure when we would be able to fly again due to this unexpected situation," he added.
After being told by officials that the family could not fly that day and that they needed to go to Dubai, Sadiqe headed to the airline counter to request a refund -- which the airline denied, since a boarding pass had already been issued.
"I rushed to DXB with my family, and it was completely unknown to us where or whom to approach to have this sorted," he said. "We were all tense and worried."
Sadiqe first went to the immigration office in Al Twar, where he was told he had to go to the main branch in Al Jaddaf the following morning.
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