During the press conference

In line with the directives of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince and chairman of   the Economic Development Board (EDB), and with the support of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime minister, the Ministry of Interior has taken steps to exempt expatriate workers who are illegally residing in Bahrain, from the accumulated fines and penalties related to residence permits .

The Assistant Undersecretary for the General Directorate for Nationality , Passport and Residence (GDNPR), Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa revealed during the press conference held on the 25th of May 2010  at the Labour Market Regulatory Authority  LMRA premises in Sanabis, that the Resolution was issued  by H.E. the Minister of the Interior which includes the pardon of those illegal Expatriate workers who have decided to leave voluntarily , form the accumulated late fees for not renewing their residence permits, he added that this pardon will take affect from today 25th of may  and is only limited to those illegal workers who have decided to leave for their home countries voluntarily only  as part of the “Easy Exit” project, in order to rectify their status.

Shaikh Ahmed added that this pardon includes all illegal expatriate workers in the kingdom both the private sector and the domestic workers and those who come under this category.
He called on all the expatriate workers who are under the illegal status to benefit from this scheme and the pardon from immigration penalties as this is a One Time opportunity that will Not Reoccur. He called on all illegal workers who come under the umbrella of the LMRA to approach the LMRA to benefit from this pardon and to arrange with their own embassies to rectify their status and leave the Kingdom voluntarily, while he called on all expatriates who entered the kingdom on Visit visas to approach the GDNPR, General Directorate for Nationality , Passports and Residence to also benefit from this pardon.

Shaikh Ahmed once again confirmed that the decision of pardon from the fees and penalties came in line with the directives of HRH Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa to facilitate the Easy Exit voluntarily for the illegal expatriate workers in the kingdom in order to eradicate this phenomenon in coordination with the LMRA, through the efforts of the  High Committee to supervise the national campaign to combat the phenomenon of illegal workers Shaikh Ahmed Made it very clear that THIS IS NOT AN AMNESTY  to rectify the residence permit status but a pardon from the penalties accumulated in order to facilitate the voluntary departure of the illegal workers from the kingdom.

On the same front the Chief Executive Officer for LMRA, chairman of the High Committee supervising the national campaign to combat illegal workers Mr. Ali Radhi hailed the decision of the Minister of the Interior supporting the campaign through the pardon of fees and penalties for the expatriate workers violating the   laws and regulations of the residence permits and the Labour market, who will now benefit from it bY voluntarily exiting the country easily with out any penalties.
At the same time Mr. Radhi hailed the role of the Minister of Labour, Chairman of the LMRA board of directors, Dr. Majeed Al Alawi, in striving for the pardon in order to support the national campaign to combat the phenomenon of illegal workers, and he also hailed the efforts of the GDNPR and the Assistant Undersecretary , Shaikh Ahmed for their support to the  Easy Exit scheme and facilitating the  campaign to combat the phenomenon of illegal workers as well as the efforts of the LMRA in general.

Mr. Radhi made it clear that the period of the pardon from the accumulated fees will be followed by a stringent inspection campaign by the enforcement directorate at LMRA in particular focusing on the expatriate street vendors, and he called upon the citizens and the employers and business men to cooperate with the campaign to regulate the Labour market by not dealing with illegal expatriate workers in the kingdom and to encourage the illegal worker to avail this opportunity of the pardon  and the Easy Exit scheme to leave  the country voluntarily assuring every one that the government establishments and organization are dealing with the illegal workers in a very civilized and respected manner based the Governments adherence to the principles of Human rights .