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Around 500 Indians are among the nearly 1000 expatriates from the United Arab Emirates who have been stranded in the Kish Island waiting for immigration authorities to hammer out new visit visa rules.
They had all gone to Kish to meet a requirement for changing visit visa to work visa, which was recently scrapped by the UAE government after a Kish Airline aircraft on a 'visa flight' crashed near Sharjah, killing more than 40 people, including Indians.
The Gulf News daily said quoting UAE cabinet sources that the immigration authorities are yet to finalise details of the new law for visa change. Until the new rules are out, those given visit visas may not get a new one, sources added.
Over 70 per cent of the expatriates in the Kish Island are waiting for new visit visas. The rest are waiting for employment visas, they added.
"Many of those who exit to Kish have no relatives in the UAE to help them. Some have been abandoned by employers who promised to bring them back," said Mabel, a Filipino. She had spent 22 days on the island before coming back to Dubai on an employment visa.
Mohammed Yunus, an Indian living in one of the dormitory accommodations in the island, said his visa application was rejected thrice over mistaken identity. Yunus had already spent 24 days there and over Dh2,000 while waiting for his brother-in-law to get him another visit visa.