Muscat, June 03: The Oman government has extended an amnesty for illegal expatriate residents for a second time. The new deadline is July 31.
The scheme, which allows overstaying expatriates to regularise their status or leave the country without paying fines, was first announced late last year with March 30 set as the closing date, which was subsequently extended by two months until May 31.
Embassies of several Asian countries, especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, have been requesting a grace period in the past weeks. They pointed out that thousands of their nationals, wishing to benefit from the scheme, had not been able to complete the formalities.
Manpower Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Bakri, during a meeting with local businessmen, had hinted that the authorities were considering an extension.
–Agencies