1. Pilot must be in IST 12 hours before flight. That means, an expat has to be there a day before and that day for travelling is still considered as OFF day.
That is not unusual, after the Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident airlines are taking a very close look at crew's commuting patterns. My company imposes the same restriction and rightly so, some were commuting into Base at midnight for a 0600 report..