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Illegal expats shun amnesty to leave Oman Amnesty ends on July 31 Fewer than a fith of the numbers expected have come forward to
Remaining cases
Estimated undocumented and overstaying expatriates
50,000
41,666
claim amnesty from prosecution, and time is running out
8,334
Bangladeshis
Expats who have left Oman
REJIMON K
4,000
Pakistanis
Indians
Paper clearance “Around 4,000 have already left the country and around 12,000 have registered, waiting for the papers to be cleared,” an official from the Bangladesh embassy told the Times of Oman. “We are trying our best to spread the message of amnesty to the interior areas and persuade our citizens who are staying illegally in Oman to make use of this opportunity,” the official added. So far, with the available data, Bangladeshi citizens top the number who have made use of the amnesty. Oman has carried out similar
The amnesty provides an opportunity to expats to go home without facing any legal action.
amnesty programmes in 2005 and 2010. At the time of 2010 amnesty, around 60,000 undocumented migrant workers, mainly from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, had left the country, according to embassy officials. Registration process An official from the Pakistan embassy said around 2,500 Pakistanis have left the country and a few hundred are waiting for the completion of the registration process. An Indian embassy official said that 1,700 Indian workers have left Oman and a report from the Philippines Overseas Labour Office said 134 Filipinos have al-
Rights of workers “No one wishes to overstay in a foreign land alone and struggle for his existence. When migrant worker’s rights are protected, he would become more productive,” Ravuther told the Times of Oman. Meanwhile, a trade union leader said irregular migrant workers should make use of this opportunity to become regular. “Oman is offering an opportunity for the irregular workers to correct their situation and become regular. Either they can do that or go back without paying any fines or facing any legal action. The world is big. They can migrate to other countries as regular documented migrant workers rather than risking their lives by continuing as an irregular one,” Mohammed Al Khaldi, board member of General Federation of Oman Trade Union, said.
OMAN
Two arrested for bank robbery
1
Police have arrested an Arab and an Asian in connection with the last month’s robbery at Oman Arab Bank’s Wadi Kabir branch. >A3
OMAN
82% Omanis have own houses: Study
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More than four-fifths or 82.2 per cent of Omani families have their own houses, according to a study released recently. >A6
MARKET
C7
Greece crisis unlikely to affect Gulf nations
3
Gulf countries, including Oman, are unlikely to face major negative fallout from the financial crisis in Greece. >B1
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Times News Service MUSCAT: Salary for private sector employees should be given before July 14 due to Eid Al Fitr, a Ministry of Manpower circular has stated. The circular was uploaded to the ministry’s official twitter account. On June 30, the ministry had issued a circular stating that government bodies should process salaries for July earlier so that employees could receive them by July 14. The circular also stated that the deadline for registering salaries in the government system is July 8 as the IT department in each organisation has to register the daily and monthly updates in the system as well.
RECOVERED: Cash and goods confiscated by the ROP from the arrested persons. – Supplied photo
Five arrested in Buraimi for 40 Dubai robberies Times News Service
Graphics
ready been repatriated. Meanwhile, Mohammed Sanaullah from Bangladesh Social Club and Shaji Sebastin, an Indian social worker, urged the remaining undocumented and overstaying expatriates to make use of this opportunity. While Shaji said by continuing as an undocumented worker, a migrant is risking everything, Sanaullah said it is the time for them to start a new life. Rafeek Ravuther, a migrant rights activist in India, said both the host and foreign countries must discuss the larger issue of how documented migrant workers become undocumented.
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reji@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: As the clock ticks down on an amnesty for illegal expats in Oman, figures show that fewer than a fifth of the expected number have come forward. There are only 24 more days left until the July 31 deadline runs out on the three-month long amnesty period. While around 50,000 undocumented and overstaying expatriates were expected to accept amnesty, only 8,334 have taken advantage of it so far and flown home. The amnesty, which began on May 3, provides an opportunity to undocumented and overstaying workers to go home without facing any legal action for violating their residency status and Oman’s labour laws. Data from four major Asian countries’ embassies revealed that around 8,334 undocumented and overstaying migrant workers have already flown back home by making use of the opportunity.
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MUSCAT: Five members of a gang convicted on 40 counts of robbery in Dubai were arrested in the Governorate of Buraimi by the Royal Oman Police (ROP). The gang members were reportedly from a South American country and had been convicted on 40 counts of robbery in Dubai. Colonel Mohammad Khalfan Al Dughaishi, commander of the Buraimi Police, said that the Directorate General of Inquiries and Investigations personnel noticed five tourists behaving suspiciously and began to investigate them.
On raiding their hotel room in Buraimi, the personnel found large quantities of jewellery, men’s and women’s watches, Arab and Western currencies as well as tools used to commit crimes. Col Mohammad added that while exchanging information with other Gulf Cooperation Council, they discovered that the suspects were wanted in 40 robbery cases in the UAE. It was also clear that the suspects were using fake European passports for travel. The ROP has asked citizens and residents to co-operate by immediately reporting any suspicious activity for public safety.