DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Most Filipinos who have overstayed and are taking advantage of the ongoing amnesty program prefer to stay in the UAE and look for jobs, said Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Alfonso A. Ver.
So far, 286 overstaying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their children have been repatriated in six batches, with the latest group of 50 leaving on the night of October 11, according to Ver.
There are about three weeks left in the two-month-long amnesty program, which started on September 1.
In an interview with GMA News Online, Ver explained that while some Filipinos have chosen to go home, the majority prefer to stay and try their luck at securing employment before the amnesty program ends on October 31.
“Those 286 are the ones who decided to return home. We don’t have exact numbers for those staying, but we know it’s the majority because the amnesty program is very generous,” said Ver.
The amnesty program offers two options: leave the country with a clean record and return if they wish, or stay, provided they have secured a job. It also waives fines and penalties for overstaying.
According to a joint advisory from the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Consulate General (PCG), more than 2,000 Filipinos took advantage of the amnesty program during its first week.
The Philippine Embassy announced on Facebook that a fifth batch of 36 overstaying OFWs was repatriated on October 10, in coordination with the PCG and the Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This brought the total to 236 as of October 10.
“Another 50 in Dubai are being repatriated as we speak,” Ver added, referring to the sixth batch of overstayers who left the UAE on October 11.
In total, 286 amnesty seekers have been repatriated. They were assisted by the Philippine Embassy and MWOs in processing their documentation to clear their immigration status and were provided reintegration assistance upon arrival in the Philippines.
Ver urged overstaying OFWs to regularize their immigration status according to UAE laws before the amnesty deadline.
The first batch of 64 OFWs and their children left the UAE on September 12, while another 40 were flown home on September 20.
The MWO in Dubai also recorded 146 cases of children born to unwed overstaying mothers within the first 12 days of the program. These children do not have birth certificates.
