MORE than a thousand Filipinos working illegally in Qatar are in danger of being arrested as the deadline for them to seek amnesty to avoid being deported and blacklisted ended on December 1, the Philippine Embassy in Qatar said Thursday.
The embassy told the Department of Foreign Affairs that only 240 out of the more than 2,000 illegal Filipino workers in Qatar had sought its assistance.
“As of the embassy’s last report, they have issued 240 travel documents to [the Filipino illegals] availing [themselves] of the amnesty,” Foreign Affairs spokesman and incoming Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Charles Jose said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency.
He said the embassy in Qatar had repeatedly informed the illegals of their rights and of the consequences should they fail to avail themselves of the amnesty offer.
“Our embassy is assisting our [workers] who would like to avail of the amnesty,” Jose said.
Qatari immigration officers will start arresting all illegal aliens in the country starting today, December 2.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior announced a three-month amnesty for all illegal residents so they could leave the country without facing sanctions in August this year. The amnesty offer started on September 1 and ended on December 1.
About 6,000 illegals had availed themselves of the amnesty between March 21 and June 20 during the last amnesty announced in 2004.
