More than 21,000 exit permits issued to Bangladeshis in UAE

ABU DHABI // The Bangladesh Embassy was swamped yesterday with as many as 200 people waiting to obtain emergency permits.

The embassy and consulate have issued more than 21,000 emergency exit permits since December 4.

During the 2007 amnesty, 40,000 Bangladeshis benefited.

The Pakistan and Nepal embassies were nearly deserted, although consular officials expected a big turnout today, the last day of the amnesty.

The Pakistani missions had issued 5,465 out passes as of January 31. In 2007, 25,000 took advantage of a similar amnesty.

The embassy also received 143 confiscated passports from UAE immigration authorities, which were then distributed to their owners.

The Nepal Embassy issued only 132 out passes during the entire two months, said Dipak Adhikari, counsellor and deputy chief of the mission.

Yesterday, only 10 people approached the mission seeking papers, he said.

anwar@thenational.ae