THE Department of Labor and Employment has urged hundreds of undocumented Filipinos working in Qatar to avail the three-month amnesty offered by the Qatari government to all undocumented foreigners to leave the country without facing legal consequences.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Qatar’s first grace period in 12 years which was enforced on September 1 and will end on December 1, 2016.
“Foreigners who are ‘illegally’ residing in Qatar—i.e. in violation of the provisions of Law No. 4 of 2009 Regulating the Entry, Exit, Residence and Sponsorship of Expatriates—can exit the country without legal consequences,” the Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said.
“I welcome this piece of good news for our overstaying OFWs of a still undetermined number as it gives them the opportunity to finally go home to their families in the Philippines, and allow them to start new lives,” Bello said.
“With this opportunity, I strongly urge Filipinos illegally staying in Qatar to avail of this amnesty and go home to the Philippines to avoid the repercussion of their being declared as illegal foreigners in Qatar,” he added.
The said amnesty covers all foreigners residing in the country who have violated Law No. 4 of 2009, which regulates the entry, exit, residence and sponsorship of expatriates.
“Those who want to avail of the program shall contact the Search and Follow up Department of Qatar to complete the exit procedures within the covered period,” the labor official said.
He also said that based on reports the POLO has received, the last amnesty was offered in 2004, but it was given an additional one month extension by the Qatari government due to the big number of foreigners who availed at that time.
According to the figures obtained from Qatar’s Ministry of Interior, the number of Filipinos legally working in that country is 222,712. The figure was 188,000 in 2015.