Overstaying Pinoys in UAE urged to avail of extended amnesty

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes is urging Filipinos with expired visit visas to avail of the UAE government’s three-month grace period for them to leave the country without incurring fines and penalties, including a waiver on a re-entry ban.

“We urge our compatriots to keep themselves abreast of developments regarding the immigration and visa policies of the UAE and ensure that they plan accordingly so as not to accrue any fines of overstaying or other penalties relative to violations of these policies,” Cortes said.

The official’s announcement came on the heels of a move by the UAE Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) to further extend the grace period for those with expired visas for three months until Nov. 17, 2020.

Cortes said another batch of repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has been scheduled for the end of this month, which so far has some 100 passengers. The mass repatriation, spearheaded by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), prioritizes senior citizens, children, pregnant women and those on expired visit visas.

“We continue to receive requests for repatriation from our kababayans and we reiterate the DFA's commitment to assist all overseas Filipinos who have submitted their requests to allow them to return home to the Philippines, subject of course to their appropriate outpass clearances from our host government,” said Cortes, head of the Philippine mission to Dubai and its neighboring northern emirates.

The most recent repatriation involved a batch of 354 OFWs who left Dubai International Airport in the evening of Aug. 5 on board Philippine Airlines flight PR 659. Another batch of over 300 left on July 30 and still another on July 24 with 351 OFWs, according to Cortes.

Previously, expired visit visa holders had until Aug. 11 to depart or face consequences for overstaying.

This date was moved to a month later and then again to November in an apparent effort by the UAE government not to be too hard on overstaying foreigners, considering they were not able to immediately leave before their documents expired due to flight suspensions at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current flight cancellations caused by quarantine gridlocks.

Prior to the extension, travel agencies processing visa applications have said there have been those with expired visit visas preferring to overstay because they still have not come up with the money to renew their documents, which can cost up to Dh2,500 for a three-month stay.

Meantime, Malou Prado, CEO of MPQ Travel & Tourism, as well urged holders of expired visit visas to take advantage of the extension now that they have a bigger window to leave the UAE. She said the government has so far been lenient with the deadline as it may take stricter measures when the extension is over.

“Kung willing silang mag-overstay, that is their risk to take,” she said, noting that fines start at Dh300 for the first day of overstaying and an additional Dh100 for each succeeding day.

“Kaya, it’s better na mag-renew sila ng visit visa before the date. Mahirap kung mag-overstay kasi ang pagkaka-alam namin, maghighigpit ngayon sa mga visit visas,” Prado said. —KBK, GMA News