Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured all help to Malayalis living in UAE without Visa. (File)
The Kerala government on Monday assured that necessary steps would be taken to bring back home Malayalis who opt for the visa amnesty scheme announced by the UAE government. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that as per the announcement, the expatriates can apply for the amnesty for a three month period from August 1 to October 31.
The government announced that the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA), the agency to redress the grievances of non-resident Keralites will take steps to bring all those Malayalis back home free of cost.
“The first group is expected to reach home by mid-August. The government has already made arrangements to collect the information of those who avail necessary clearance under the scheme,” Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram. He also stated that the UAE government has made arrangements for the amnesty procedures in nine centres.
The scheme is intended to benefit all those who are in UAE without having valid papers and over the years, this scheme has come to the aid of several people who live illegally in the UAE, due to various reasons.
The Chief Minister also urged the NRK community in UAE to cooperate with the state government in its efforts.
(With inputs from PTI)