Six French children out of school in UAE as parents violate residency law

The woman claimed she was deserted by her Pakistani husband without any valid documents.

The undocumented status of their parents are costing scores of children the chance of education in the UAE.

Children are forced to drop out of school after their overstaying parents/sponsor fail to renew their residential visas and sponsor a family, and amnesty may restore their right for education.

While parents fight joblessness, poverty and other legal implications of living on the wrong side of the law in their host country, children suffer an uncertain academic future as they are denied their right to education for no fault of theirs.

Khaleej Times had earlier reported on overstaying families living on the edge of penury and with their children not attending schools.

One such case was that of a French woman named Fadila whose six children - three boys and three girls, aged between four and 16 - were unable to go to school because of their undocumented status.

"It is not their fault that they are in this bad situation. I have been desperately trying to find a job to legalise our status and send my children to school but without any luck. I hope amnesty will give us a chance to start afresh," Fadila told Khaleej Times.

The woman claimed she was deserted by her Pakistani husband and was left on her own in the UAE without any valid documents. The family is sleeping in a one-bedroom in a shared villa in Sharjah. Her three younger children had never been to school while the elder boys discontinued education after coming to the UAE from France.

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi