Indians visit Dubai consul for amnesty

Hundreds of Indians are queueing up at the Indian consulate here to get their passports or emergency certificates in view of the three-month long amnesty declared by the UAE government.

The majority among the amnesty seekers were absconders who had come to the consulate upon learning that the Indian authorities had received thousands of passports of Indian citizens from the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD). The amnesty began on June 1 and ends on August 31.

Special seating arrangements were made yesterday for the amnesty seekers in the consulate auditorium as the huge rush of people had taken even the local authorities by surprise.

Amnesty-seekers started arriving at the consulate since early morning, and the local police was deployed near the entrance to ensure queues.

Confirming the problems faced by the Indian mission due to the heavy rush of amnesty seekers, Indian Consul General Venu Rajamony said: "We have received around 30,000 passports from DNRD. It's a big job to sort out all these passports and give them to their owners. The list of passports is available on the consulate website https://bsmedia.business-standard.comwww.cgidubai.com.

"Due to the extra work generated on account of the amnesty announced by the UAE authorities and due to the holiday rush, the consulate is facing unprecedented number of visitors. Sundays and Mondays are peak days at the consulate."