Live: Over 1,500 overstaying Dubai residents applied for amnesty on Day 1

Dubai - Two amnesty tents were set up at the immigration centre in Al Aweer.

A total of 1,534 overstaying residents applied on Day 1 of the 3-month amnesty programme at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) centres in Al Aweer and Amer centres across the in Dubai on Wednesday.

At a press briefing at the GDRFA center on Thursday, Brigadier Khalaf Al Ghaith, GDRFA Assistant Director General of Follow-up Sector of Violators and Foreigners, said out of the 1,534 applicants, 326 were given outpasses, 408 applied to renew their visa at Amer centres, 260 modified their residency status, 124 were absconding cases and 416 applied for visa cancellation without changing their status.

One of the cases that was cleared yesterday was that of a violator who had accumulated Dh1 million in fines.

"We had many cases of people born here and did not have the required residency visa since birth. One amnesty seeker who is now 18 years old did not have a visa since he was born," Al Ghaith said.

Two amnesty tents were set up at the immigration centre in Al Aweer - one for men and the other for women - which could both accommodate up to 3,000 applicants at a given time.

Meanwhile, Philippine consul-general Paul Raymund Cortes said over 1,500 Filipinos trooped to the Consulate yesterday "to seek advice on how they could avail of the program and what are the requirements / guidelines they should comply with."

"We held hourly briefings and the Consulate officers and staff patiently explained the procedures and guidelines relative to the amnesty program, including the consular procedures and renewal of passports," Cortes said.

Meanwhile, about 50 overstaying Filipinos were issued exit permits at the Al Aweer Immigration Center on Wednesday.

angel@khaleejtimes.com

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