Filipino expat Francisco Pacheco, 58, has just finished packing his clothes and other belongings in a luggage weighing 32kg. Beside it was a small bag filled with dates and chocolates. He then marked the calendar on his wall and encircled August 11 - this is the day when he will travel back home to the Philippines to see his family whom he hasn't seen in eight years.
"The first thing that I will do as soon as I get home is to carry and kiss my newly-born apo (grandchild)," Pacheco told Khaleej Times with keen anticipation. "I haven't seen my family in eight years. The last time I was home I had only two grand children and now I have five - with the youngest one born just last month."
Pacheco was one of thousands of overstaying Dubai residents who went to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) office in Al Aweer last week. He did so on the first day of the 90-day immigration amnesty program in UAE.
He paid the GDRFA Dh221 for the outpass and another Dh521 to clear his name from the immigration list for him to travel without an immigration ban. The entire Dh742 penalty was refunded to him by the Philippine Consulate, but he was not able to avail the free ticket because he had already booked his own. He flies back home on Saturday, August 11.
"I will carry only one piece of luggage and a small bag with me. I was not able to save anything. Life had been really tough in the last few years when I lived and worked illegally in Dubai. My salary was also very low and there was no job security. Worse, thatn this was that I could not go to a hospital or a clinic even on days when I was seriously ill because of the absence of medical insurance", he said.
Pacheco has been a Dubai resident for the last 27 years. He came to the city legally in 1991 on an employment visa and worked as a fabricator at an aluminum company in Jebel Ali. His troubles began when the company closed down in 2010.
Instead of going back to the Philippines, he left from the Kish Island in Iran and returned to Dubai on a visit visa to search for jobs. The employers told him that he could not be hired as he was already 50 years old. But since he was still supporting his children back then, he had no choice but to stay in Dubai.
"Actually, it would have been harder for me to look for a job in my hometown in Nueva Ecija (in central Philippines) or in Manila (the country's capital)," Pacheco explained.
"I worked part time for another aluminum company in Al Quoz and I accepted the offer of receiving only Dh100 a day or Dh2,6000 for a month. At least I was able to earn something and support my family. If I returned home I would have earned only about Dh36 (minimum wage in the Philippines) daily. So I stayed back", he added.
"I was not able to change my visa status because the money I was earning was the same amount (Dh100) I had to pay daily for overstaying my visit visa. So, I decided to stay, illegally," he conveyed.
Despite his meager source of income in Dubai, Pacheco is proud of the fact that he was able to support his family financially. Now that all three of his children have a family of their own, Pacheco said that he is looking forward to settle in the Philippines.
"I was able to survive and I'm very grateful to the UAE government for waiving off my overstaying fines which amounted to tens of thousands of dirhams. Because of the amnesty program, finally, I can be with my family again", Pacheco rejoiced.
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