Illegal migrants urged to comply with amnesty

Manama Illegal migrant workers are being urged to benefit from the amnesty and regulate their situation or leave Bahrain without penalties. The Assistant Undersecretary for Ports, Search and Follow Up at the Nationality, Passport and Residence (NPRA) called upon the migrant community to comply with grace period so as bring their situation in line with the law. In a statement issued yesterday, he said that the NPRA has allocated employees and offices to facilitate the paperwork procedures. He pointed out that the NPRA personnel receive a big number of violators on a daily basis to correct their situation in coordination with their embassies to provide the required documents. The move is in compliance with an edict issued by the Coordination Committee during its 87th meeting, which was chaired by Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. An amnesty was then announced for illegal migrant workers to correct their situation during the six-month grace period, which took effect on July 1 and will run until December 31. The NPRA officer urged migrants to benefit from the grace period as they won’t have to pay fines or accumulative fees or to face legal actions, adding that the penalties and fines will be re-enforced after the end of the amnesty through the NPRA’s inspection campaigns for illegal workers.