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Sudanese expats’ tale of woes
DUBAI — Despite the Ministry of Interior in Sudan sending a special team to help cope with the work pressure in issuing passport for children at the embassy and consulate in the UAE, a large number of parents alongwith their children were seen queuing up at the consulate here for their children’s passport.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ahmed Shawer, Consul-General of Sudan, said the volume of work had increased at the consulate consequent to the recent decision of the UAE government requiring expats from seven countries including Sudan to obtain separate passports for their children which incidentally, coincides with the holidays season. He said the number of Sudanese expatriates going home for vacation this year was so huge that the volume of work had increased by over 80 per cent compared to last year. Apart from the passport issuance for children, the consulate was providing other services including tax payment and passport renewal. Shawer said the team deputed from Sudan for a specific period of time had managed to take care of 50 per cent of the work load. They worked at the consulate office in the mornings and at various Sudanese community clubs in the Northern Emirates including Ajman, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah in the evenings. Colonel Emad Mustafa Ahmed, Head of the Passport and Naturalisation Section at the Consulate, said the consulate had only one officer who was authorised by the Sudanese Interior Ministry to issue and renew passports of Sudanese expatriates, in addition to two employees who helped with the formalities. “This is insufficient to handle such high pressure. The team on deputation helped us a great deal, but with their return, we are faced with the problem of rush again,” he said. Col Ahmed pointed out that the team which comprised eight officers succeeded in processing the applications the same day in order save the Sudanese who come from other emirates the trouble of making another journey. “Within two weeks, they could issue 3,000 passports and naturalisation certificates for children of different ages,” he noted. When asked about the difficulties they faced in the process of issuing passports in Dubai, Major Yasir Osman, who was part of the team, said most children aged 18 years who required naturalisation certificate for issue of passports were ignorant about the province they came from in Sudan and the tribe they belong to or any information about the country. “In order to provide an applicant a naturalisation certificates, he or she should at least know the name of tribe their family belongs to,” he added. Captain Jamal Khalifa said many Sudanese who came with their children to apply for separate passports refused to pay the 290 fee for the issuance of the passport after completing all the procedures, claiming that they couldn’t afford the amount now, and would return later with the money. “These kind of people wasted our time since they could have asked about the fee before filing their application forms or could have met the naturalisation officers,” he said. Fatima Omar, a Sudanese expatriate and mother of six, said: “the decision has increased the financial burden on us since I have to pay 290 for each child to get his or her passport issued in addition to bearing the price hike. Life has become very difficult here and I would prefer to go home for good to avoid the headache of living under constant financial burden.” Mohammed Al Bushra, a Sudanese lawyer said most Sudanese families who have more than four children have to pay the fee of the new passports in addition to residence visa fees. “Besides, there is the fee for renewal of children’s passports every two years. To minimise this burden, the authorities concerned should issue passports for children with a validity of at least five years and exempt children from residence visa fees,” one of the Sudanese affected by the new decision said, on condition of anonymity.
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