Indian man’s $55,812 fine waived in UAE amnesty

In a relief to an Indian man in the UAE, the authorities have scrapped the $55,812 fine imposed on him after he ran away from his employer seven years ago. Emirati sponsors are handing over passports of absconding employees as part of the government’s initiative ‘Protect yourself by rectifying your status’. The amnesty scheme was launched to help absconding workers get their passports back and legalise their status

Eighty per cent of the 400 amnesty-seekers approached the Al Fujairah center  to receive their passports, which were submitted to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) by their sponsors, the report said. The amnesty center carried out a large number of fine-waiving procedures and issued many of them outpass to be able to leave the country, the report said. In one case, the GDRFA waived Dh 205,000 (USD 55,812) for an Indian worker who ran away from his sponsor seven years ago, it said. “This was the maximum waived amount on the day,” said Brigadier Dr Ahmed Ali Al-Saghairy, acting executive director of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs in Fujairah. The identity of the Indian was not revealed.