Dubai: Smiling widely without knowing what is happening around, Hayat Irfan, an Indian girl who will turn four next month, walked around the amnesty centre in Al Aweer on Thursday.
Hayat had come along with her parents Irfan Shaikh and Sana, who hail from Mumbai.

Sana, who had an overstay fine of Dh100,000, heaved a sigh of relief after the fine was waived and the absconding case against her lifted.
“I will now be able to live legally by accepting the new offer letter that I have,” she said.
However, the couple’s problems were not completely over.

They were upset that they wouldn’t able to get a legal status immediately for Hayat, who never had a passport.
Irfan said they could not make a passport for their only child as they could not provide documents required for that by the Indian Consulate in Dubai at the time of her birth.
“We have her birth certificate from the hospital. But we couldn’t make a passport for her. When we approached the Indian Consulate, we were told that we should submit the original passport of both the parents,” he claimed.
Irfan, who previously worked as a mechanic at Dubai Airports, said he was unable to do it as his passport was in the court because of credit card and bank loan cases that he was facing.
“I had taken the loan when my mother fell sick and for my sister’s marriage. I had cleared all that by paying around Dh130,000 that I got as gratuity when I resigned. But by then, Sana had left her previous company that wasn’t giving her salary. So she also ended up without a visa.”
The couple said they found the next hurdle in getting a passport for the child as the rule says either of the parents should have a residence visa to issue a passport from here.
Irfan is currently on a visit visa and Sana is expecting to join a new company that has offered her a job after exiting the country and coming back.
The couple said they will now have to wait till Sana gets her new visa to apply for a passport for Hayat.
“We are thankful to the UAE government for relaxing so many rules and waiving huge fines for us and many others like us. We wish our government also had shown some leniency to us to get a passport for our child soon,” said Irfan.
The couple said they did not wish to opt for taking an emergency travel certificate (outpass) to take the child to India and apply for a passport from there claiming that it would be time consuming and they do not have enough money and support in India.
When contacted, a consulate official said India had already liberalised passport rules for children. “Since last year, even one parent can also submit passport application with just an undertaking in a plain paper. Earlier, they had to get the authorisation from the other parent. Now, there is no such rule.”
However, the rule that either of the parents should have a valid residence visa to apply for a passport for a child from here still remains, he clarified.
“Normally we issue an outpass in such cases. However, if the parents can submit documents to prove that they are applying for a visa, we can issue a short-term passport for the child. If the parents don’t have the means to live here legally, this is the best chance for them to go back home with the child,” the official said.

SOURCE : GULFNEWS