PH Government Repatriates 143 Filipinos from the UAE 

Overseas Filipinos (OFs) wait at the check-in area for their flight back home to Manila. (Dubai PCG photo)

DUBAI 05 November 2020  – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, repatriated a total of 143 Overseas Filipinos (OFs) on 31 October 2020 via Philippine Airlines flight PR 0659. The flight departed Dubai on 31 October at around 7:30 PM and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at around 08:30 AM (Manila time) on 01 November 2020.

The bulk of the passengers on the said flight were those who availed of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government’s amnesty for overstaying residence and tourist visa holders which was extended to 17 November 2020. Under the amnesty, those whose residence or tourist visas which expired before 01 March 2020, including those with immigration violation of absconding will be permitted to leave the UAE, with all related fines waived and without being handed an entry ban.

Also in this batch of repatriated OFs are those considered as priority for repatriation, namely, pregnant women, those with minor children, the elderly, and those with medical conditions. Nearly all of them are victims of the sudden economic downturn in the country brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The passengers expressed their gratitude to the Duterte Administration for extending much needed assistance to OFs in Dubai and the rest of the UAE like themselves whose lives have been adversely affected by the ongoing pandemic. END

For more information, visit https://www.dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinDubai/ or the Consul General's FB page @phcongendubaipaulcortes.