08 July 2006
Abu Dhabi: Pakistani residents in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah have sought Islamabad's intervention in advising the Consulate General in Dubai to issue five-year passports within 73 hours if needed urgently they say their residence permit renewal applications are being rejected by immigration authorities due to one-year passports issued by the consulate.
The appeal was made in a letter to Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Pakistan's Interior Minister.
"The main problem we have in RAK and Fujairah is that the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai renews our passports for a year, while the immigration authorities in these two emirates require passports with a five-year validity for renewal of residence permits," the letter sent by Pak Baloch and the Sindhi Welfare Association signed by its Vice-Chairman, Ali Mohammad says.
Mohammad added the problem was caused by switching from manual to machine readable passports (MRPs), which take about a month to be issued. Mohammad said the majority of victims are those whose passports are withheld by their sponsors.
"They are unaware of their expiry dates of both their passports and residence permits. They come across these when they get their passport to travel in emergencies or for annual leave," he said.
Dr Zafar Iqbal, Media and Information Affairs Counsellor at the consulate, said they would soon be able to issue MRPs faster to entertain urgent applications.
By Nissar Hoath
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
