Abu Dhabi: As the five-month-long amnesty comes to an end in the country, an official says there would be no more extension.
An official from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship told Gulf News on Monday that December 31 was the last day for amnesty, which had started on August 1.
From January 1, the countrwide inspection campaigns will be launched against those illegally residing in the UAE. From Tuesday, the residency rule offenders have to pay all accumulated fines in full, official source from the authority said.
The authority announced the amnesty for three months from August 1 to October 31 and extended it twice until December 31 to facilitate residents to rectify their residency status to stay in the country legally or leave without paying any fines or facing prosecutions for their unauthorised stay in the country.
Though extact number of amnesty seekers has not been revealed yet, it is estimated that thousands from various nationalities have availed themselves during the last five years.
During the amnesty period, the authority put all its effort spread the message among all undocumented residents in the country to regularise their status and avail benefits of the amnesty as the UAE wanted to make the country free from illegal residents.
Gradually these inspections will be intensified to bring residency rule offenders under the rules of the law, the source from the authority said.
The authority also said that in the coming day, it will organise a media briefing to shares its experience of the amnesty and would also announce the figures of amnesty seekers who benefitted from the initiative.
There were nine centres for amnesty seekers across the UAE to regularise their residency status.