By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter

Recently, MoI officials had announced that “surprise” inspections would be carried out at frequent intervals as part of their plans to nab “free birds” working outside the purview of sponsors.

The ministerial announcement has left the operators of several groceries and other establishments, who apparently have many such people employed in their establishments, worried.

With the possibility of facing steep fines if “free visa” holders are caught while at work, their operators now have to think twice before using the services of such expatriates at least for the next few months, say sources.

Many small groceries, cafeterias and restaurants carry out their daily operations with people having NOCs from their sponsors. Such NOCs are usually issued only after the first renewal of their visa, mostly after a year.

On the other hand, several small establishments with fewer regular employees on their payroll have been employing “free birds” by making use of the loopholes in the existing visa rules. The functioning of many such groceries is likely to be hit if the authorities intensify their raids in the coming months, it is understood.

Further, it has come to light that sections of grocery store employees and others working outside the purview of sponsors also need to pay hefty amounts to secure an exit permit to travel home, mostly once in two years.

While the MoI charges only QR10 as the fee for issuing exit permits, sources in the community said those working outside the purview of sponsors and many others employed in smaller establishments are often made to pay sums ranging between QR50 and QR150 by “mandoops” to get their exit permits.

Sources said the group of workers that often falls victim to the “greed” of the “mandoops” are those employed in groceries and other small units.

To make matters worse, these workers are unable to report such cases (of overcharging) to the authorities as they fear that this may prompt their employers to cancel their residence permits and make them suffer without issuing exit permits.

Meanwhile, several groceries have reportedly come under fire for not providing some of the basic requirements of their workers, such as tickets to travel home once in even two years, leave salary, insurance, health cards and adequate rest.

Recently, a representative of an Indian forum - which holds a well-attended medical camp for expatriates every year - said it has issued hundreds of free health cards to low-income expatriates, mainly workers of groceries and smaller establishments, over the years.