Dubai, Oct 16 (IANS) The Indian embassy in Kuwait issued emergency out-passes to 3,590 Indians in the course of a 45-day amnesty scheme there for illegal foreign residents that expired Wednesday.
'We have issued a total of 3,590 emergence out-passes under the amnesty scheme,' Dinesh Bhatia, charge d'affaires at the embassy, told IANS over telephone.
'We will get to know the exact number of Indians who have left the country in a few days from the local government here,' he said.
The amnesty scheme was launched Sep 1 by Kuwait's ruler Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Under the scheme, immigration departments across that Gulf city-state assisted all individuals to either adjust their illegal residency status or leave the country.
Those who had no travel documents were allowed to leave the country within the specified period mentioned in the new law.
Expatriates willing to return to their respective countries after deportation were asked to follow the official channels and procedures.
There are around 550,000 expatriate Indians in Kuwait.
Authorities in that Gulf nation have also ruled out the possibility of the amnesty period being extended.
The country's interior ministry has warned that strict action would be taken against illegal residents once the amnesty gets over. Illegal residents caught in the country would be deported and not allowed back.
Employers and sponsors of such illegal residents will also face stern measures such as total suspension of all their transactions. Residency permits of expatriates sponsoring such illegal residents will also be suspended.
The latest amnesty scheme was launched 14 months after the last one.
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