ABU DHABI, Dec 26: Pakistani diplomats in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are preparing for an expected exodus of 15,000 to 20,000 illegal expatriates in the wake of the four-month-long amnesty, which was recently announced by the Emirate.

The amnesty, effective from the first day of the New Year, will end on April 30.

According to the statement issued by the UAE government, no penalty would be imposed on any of the illegal immigrant, who either left the country or obtained residence permits within the amnesty period.

The United Arab Emirates government would also bear the cost of deportation of individuals falling under certain categories, specially those who had no sponsors to pay for their deportation or those who could not pay for their own tickets.

“The local governments have allocated funds to cover the expenses of deporting violators during the amnesty,” the UAE minister of labour and social affairs, Mattar Humaid Al-Tayer was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying.

According to the Gulf News, Mr Al Tayer said his ministry was in touch with embassies of the countries, from where illegal immigrants mainly come from, and have introduced a high- tech facility to identify illegal immigrants in the Emirates.

In another concession, the UAE government would also not enforce a one-year ban on work in the Emirates on illegal immigrants if they returned home during amnesty period.

It is estimated that between 300,000 and 350,000 illegal workers will leave under the amnesty and concerned embassies and diplomatic missions in the UAE have already started making arrangements for out-passes and emergency certificates for people without valid travel documents. Extra flights have also been planned to carry the extra passenger load.

According to the estimates of the Pakistani embassy, over 15,000 to 20,000 Pakistani nationals would be affected by the UAE government decision, adding that it was in constant touch with the UAE authorities in this regard.