At the Al Aweer amnesty center in Dubai. GDRFA

Visa amnesty services are suspended on September 15 as the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai announced that it will be closed in observance of the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The authority announced that visa amnesty services will resume after the public holiday on Monday (September 16). Services will be available at the Status Regularisation Centre in Al Awir from 8am to 8pm daily, except on Fridays when hours are from 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 8pm. Services will be offered at 86 Amer Centres in Dubai according to their regular operating hours. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) also confirmed that their centres will be closed on Sunday. Typically, these centres operate from Monday to Friday, 7am to 10pm. The UAE visa amnesty scheme began on September 1 and has since helped thousands of overstaying expats to regularise their residency status or leave the country without paying hefty fines and facing legal consequences. During the amnesty period, various embassies, including those of the Philippines, India, and Pakistan, are offering assistance to their citizens applying for amnesty. Day one of the scheme saw immediate job offers extended to skilled expats, fines worth thousands of dirhams waived, and families who had been living without documentation for years finally receiving their identities. The initiative aims to provide a fresh start for many who have been living in the UAE with irregular statuses. For overstayers who wish to regularise their residency status and apply for the amnesty, learn the full details here. FLE/Expat Media
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