UAE might extend visa amnesty scheme

DUBAI: UAE’s visa amnesty scheme might be extended according to immigration sources in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The three-month scheme is set to end this October 31, but multiple diplomatic missions in the country had requested for an extension to give illegal residents more time to fix their status, UAE daily Khaleej Times reported.

According to an official, an announcement will be made soon, but “we cannot say now whether the extension is for one month or 45 days.”

Bangladesh has put in an official request for the extension. “A lot of people still want to avail of the amnesty and we are getting queries on a daily basis. We are hopeful authorities will extend it,” Bangladeshi Ambassador to the UAE Muhammad Imran said.

Since the start of the amnesty program, thousands of illegal residents have either exited the country or have gotten a six-month job seeker visa.

Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs said that they issued over 25,000 sponsor visas and renewed 2,900 residencies during the first month of the amnesty.