by Sahan Tennekoon in The Daily Morning, Sept 29, 2023
The increase in the number of Sri Lankan migrants who enter the Sultanate of Oman on visit and tourist visas has caused inconvenience to the procedures of the Sri Lankan diplomatic corps in Oman, The Daily Morning learns.
In the wake of around 130 illegal migrant workers being stranded in Oman at the moment, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Sultanate of Oman, Ahamed Lebbe Sabarullah Khan yesterday (28) told The Daily Morning that the Sri Lankan Embassy had repatriated more than 400 migrant workers who had been stranded on account of their tourist visas having expired, within the past few months. He also said that the Embassy has continuously been attempting to appeal to the Omani Government in order to seek some sort of help to repatriate these people without their being punished; however, that has now become a serious diplomatic issue.
He said that the Embassy has informed the Sri Lankan Government about these stranded migrants who have overstayed their visa, asking them to make the relatives of these people aware about the matter. He further said that appealing to the Omani Government on behalf of these people is the only thing that the Embassy can do.
“Anyway, those migrants should pay a certain amount of money as a fine (penalty for overstaying). The Embassy has no responsibility when it comes to this matter. But as the representatives of the country, we have informed their relations via the Sri Lankan Government to send them the required amount of money. We can appeal to them for a waiver, but now it has become a problem,” Khan said.
He also said that these groups of migrant workers are being sent to Omani by-agencies which are not registered under the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), which has framed the SLBFE’s capacity to intervene in the matter. Therefore, the Ambassador also urged Sri Lankans to obtain the assistance of SLBFE-registered agents and to follow the legally-approved procedure and documentation process if one wished to travel to Oman.
Last month, Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Muscat, in collaboration with relevant authorities, had facilitated the repatriation of 32 stranded migrant workers who had entered Oman on visit and tourist visas with the intention of securing jobs and subsequently overstayed their visas after having failed to find proper employment.
However, The Daily Morning learns from sources in Oman that three such Sri Lankan males had spent over 50 days on the streets and parks in Muscat sans sanitation facilities to even bathe. The SLBFE does not accommodate persons unregistered with them prior to departure and they also provide such temporary safe house accommodation only for females registered with them. According to the trio, they had paid Rs. 500,000 each (Rs. 1.5 million in total) to the agent, who had stranded them with the promise of employment at a supermarket, and who had also not adequately paid the private accommodation rent. It is learnt that the fine is Omani rials (OMR) 500 each, with OMR 10 being added per each overstayed day.
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/K6OMXafN6BoqGQZcn2f2
