If you are illegal for less than three months, you can legalise your status

If you are illegal for less than three months, you can legalise your statusBy Ahmed Abdul Aziz (Our staff reporter)KHALEEJ TIMES 1 April 2008

ABU DHABI — If you are an illegal resident in the UAE or your driver or maid has an expired visa for less than three months you can go to the Naturalisation and Residency Department (NRD) and legalise the status without being penalised, according to Major Hilal Aida Al Mazrouei, Director of the Department of Illegals.

He told Khaleej Times that the work on following-up on illegal workers in the country will take a different shape as we seek the cooperation of all the sponsors in the society — nationals, expatriates and the illegals themselves - to weed out this problem.

The move will enable sponsors to legalise the status of their housemaids and domestic servants' if their visas have expired. They can do this by going to the courts, which will waive the fines and legalise their status by renewing the visa or transferring the sponsorship.

In the past, one month was given as grace period to the sponsors to renew the visas of their workers, maids, domestic servants, relatives and dependants. However, the new decision now allows them up to three months.

Meanwhile, the NRDs countrywide have launched inspection campaigns to flush out illegals.

"We are on the move in the light of the directives of Minister of Interior Lt-Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan," said Major Al Mazrouei.

He added that the inspection campaigns teams arrested about 80 illegals yesterday in the capital.