The Philippine missions in the UAE have advised the countrymen to be wary of online scams relating to fake information with regards to the visa amnesty that is to commence on September 1.
The Philippine Embassy also stated it has received alarming reports of fake text messages and e-mails providing links to sites that claim to provide the portal for the registration for the amnesty.
“The Philippine embassy wants the public to exercise great care in sharing sensitive and/or personal information with questionable websites, Share information that will complete the documents only with trustworthy sites,” the mission said, adding that the UAE Government has not officially announced the guidelines for the two months visa reprieve.
“Our embassy in Abu Dhabi would like to emphasize that it will remain in cooperation with the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) and other related departments,” they said,” The advisories/announcements will be released as soon as it is produced,” they concluded.
Previously, the Philippine government had provided approximately Dh7.8 million for the said exit fees of Dh221 each, the clearance of the cases of absconding which cost about Dh521 as well as their airfare amounting to Dh1,500 for their return. They were also handed $100 (Dh365) each, excluding the minors, featured as “humble welfare assistance”.
Smart systems to be used
The proposed program of the amnesty of visas was considered by the representatives of the immigration service last week. Sophisticated automation will be employed in order to ease out the process.
The stated one will be the fourth amnesty that the UAE government has launched since 2007. The last one which was launched six years ago was initially set to operate for ninety days up to October 31, 2018, however, the federal government reopened the amnesty scheme for two more months up to December 31 for the residency violators to either legalize their status or exit the country penalty-free.
Around the UAE, approximately 342,000 residents homemade use of a two-month amnesty in 2007 and over 60,000 migrants in the nation sought out the service during the 2012/2013.
In 2018, the GDRFA said a total of 105,809 residence visa trespassers applied for amnesty in Dubai. Millions of dirhams in fines were revoked during the five-month scheme that ended on December 31, 2018.