Saudi amnesty time for illegal migrants added
Hom Karki
Saudi Arabia has extended the amnesty period for illegal migrants by four more months. The decision comes as a respite for thousands of undocumented Nepali migrants languishing in the Gulf country, who could now apply for their return home without facing any legal prosecution. There are around 10,000 illegal Nepali migrants in Saudi Arabia .
“The government has extended the amnesty date until November 2. By this time, we hope to rescue all illegal migrant Nepalis, provide them with necessary documents and send them home,” said Nepali Ambassador Udayraj Pandey.
The two-month-long amnesty that the Saudi government had announced earlier ended on Tuesday.
The Nepali embassy had issued travel documents to 35,000 illegal migrants in that period. Many Nepalis who had entered Saudi Arabia through illegal means, those involved in court litigation or with unpaid traffic citation had not had the opportunity to apply for amnesty. The Nepali embassy expects to send them home this time around. Meanwhile, the Nepali embassy is concerned about the budget required to rescue the illegal migrants. The Nepal government has not provided the budget, nor the human resources for the undertaking.
“The government has yet to release the emergency budget that we have requested to feed and house the migrants,” said Pandey.
Unable to return home, many illegal migrant Nepalis spend their time in public parks and roadsides under palm trees, while the shelter run by the Nepali embassy is jampacked with women migrants.
Published on: 3 July 2013 | The Kathmandu Post
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