Oman will have deported 14,254 illegal expats by the end of the month, according to the Ministry of Manpower, Times of Oman has reported.
Already 7,382 individuals have already been returned to their home countries and 6,872 more will be deported within the next 22 days. The mass deportation comes after a 3-month "amnesty" during which illegal expats living and working in the sultanate were asked to come forward without facing prosecution.
Instead of facing legal action for remaining illegally within the country, individuals will simply be returned to their home countries under the "amnesty." The initiative was launched on May 3 and ends July 31.
These statistics have been released following a report two days ago highlighting the small number of illegal expats taking advantage of the amnesty. When the initiative was launched, it was expected that some 50,000 individuals would come forward.
According to the data available to Times of Oman, citizens of Bangladesh are the largest group to have taken advantage of the amnesty. Oman issued a similar amnesty in 2005 and 2010.
Approximately 60,000 individuals – mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – are believe to have accepted the amnesty terms back in 2010. It is unclear why the current initiative has been significantly less successful.
Although those not taking advantage of the amnesty may be subject to legal prosecution if caught, it would seem Oman prefers to continue issuing similar initiatives every few years.