BACHOK: The Kelantan Immigration Department has received 97 applications from illegal foreigners to join its 'Back for Good' amnesty programme.
The programme is aimed at reducing the number of illegal foreigners in the country.
State Immigration department deputy director Siti Khadijah Hamzah said the programme, which kicked off in Putrajaya on Aug 1 and ends on Dec 31, targets foreigners with no valid documents or those foreigners who have overstayed.
"The 97 foreigners who had applied to join the programme with us are from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia.
"They were told to get passports and the necessary documents from their respective embassies in order. They must also bring along their tickets before they approach any of our immigration offices," she said.
Siti Khadijah said this after attending the department’s CSR programme in Telong today.
She added that each illegal is also required to fork out RM700 each if they want to participate in the programme.
"They will also be blacklisted from entering Malaysia forever once they return to their respective countries," she said.
She said foreigners who had registered with the Immigration Department are also given seven days to go back to their countries after getting all the necessary travel documents.
On a related matter, Siti Khadijah said the state Immigration Department arrested 930 illegal immigrants in 337 operations in Kelantan since early this year.
She said 290 Bangladesh nationals were nabbed, followed by Myanmar citizens (243) and Indonesians (153).
"A majority of them were detained for entering this country without proper documents and overstaying.
"They were picked up at locations such as construction sites and restaurants," she said.