Immigration Acting Director Flevin Misech said, up to the present, less than 100 have registered since the alien registration has ended on Sept. 30. However, the office is no longer collecting the $25 registration fee.
Over 5,000 foreign workers have already registered at the Immigration Office, but Misech said they are still consolidating the report to get the final total of the foreign workers and to determine as well the overstaying ones.
Misech reiterated that only those overstaying workers who had registered on Aug. 16 to Sept. 30 are entitled to the amnesty program.Overstaying workers who had registered after Sept. 30 will not be covered by the amnesty.
The amnesty program, which took effect on Aug. 16 and will end on Dec. 31, was signed by President Johnson Toribiong to give overstaying workers enough time to sort out their papers without being subjected to fines or prosecution.
The alien registration was implemented to count all foreign workers in Palau. However, a class action suit was filed against President Toribiong and the government of Palau for reportedly violating equal protection rights of the foreign workers.
On Sept. 29, a day before the registration deadline, Supreme Court issued an order to temporary stop the collection of fee while the case is being tried.
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