More than 450 Sri Lankan expatriates availed of the Ministry of Interior’s (MoI) amnesty last month, a Sri Lankan embassy official said yesterday.
The three-month long amnesty for illegal residents to leave Qatar without facing any legal consequences for overstaying in the country started on September 1.
The Sri Lankan embassy official said the figures of those who approached the Search and Follow Up Department of the MoI this month is expected only at the end of the month.
The official also expressed the hope that more illegal residents, if any, would approach the MoI authorities next month, especially in the last 15 days.
The amnesty is the first in 12 years and the third ever in Qatar. Expatriates residing in the country in violation of the provisions of Law No. 4 of 2009 Regulating the Entry, Exit, Residence and Sponsorship of Expatriates can exit the country without legal consequences, if they leave by December 1.
About 6,000 illegal residents took advantage of the scheme in the first three months between March 21 and June 20 during the last amnesty announced in 2004.