267 illegal Indians held in Sharjah, likely to be deported

Sharjah Department of Naturalization and Residency and Sharjah Police arrested the 267 Indians, 67 of whom had no IDs or documents, on Tuesday.

It was one of the major raids on illegal expats in the UAE since the official amnesty ended last year during which nearly 300,000 people had regularised their status.

"Some had residence visas but which had expired several years ago and they had not renewed it. Some of the arrested were working with people other than their sponsors. They were all referred to the Sharjah Public Prosecution on Wednesday," department official Major Al Shamsi said.

Shamsi said all the workers will be deported.

But local authorities have not informed the Indian consulate about those detained, officials said, adding they may approach the consulate for processing documents when they are deported.

Indian consul-general Venu Rajamony said on Friday that consulate had asked all Indians in the UAE not to violate local immigration rules and had helped a majority of those staying illegally to leave the country during the last amnesty.

Almost 3.4 lakh illegal residents, including 110,000 Indians, had benefited from the three-month amnesty scheme declared by the UAE government in July.

"The government is dealing strictly with all those people who are staying illegally in the country. They will be arrested and will be subsequently deported to their native countries," Shamsi added.

Shamsi also warned companies employing illegal workers that they face prosecution. "A fine of Dh50, 000 (Rs 5 lakhs) will be slapped against companies employing illegal workers. Employers will also be sent to jail and their licences will be cancelled," he said.

The official said that they have been arresting more than 150 illegal workers every week since the end of the amnesty in November last year.

"We are not going to tolerate any workers staying illegally in the country. Anyone who plays with the UAE laws will be taken to task and prosecuted or deported," he said.

The raid was carried out after the police received information that a number of illegal immigrants were living in different parts of Sharjah.

It was one of the major raids on illegal expats in the UAE since the official amnesty ended last year.

Before the amnesty, there were 300,000 to 350,000, illegal workers, according to some official estimates.