‘Free Visa’ Dealers Face Crackdown

The Labor Ministry is taking new measures to prevent illegal visa trade. Officials said the ministry had amended the Labor Law to block fake firms from recruiting foreigners. Work permits issued by fake companies, commonly described as ‘free visas’, are being blamed for various malpractices in the Kingdom’s labor market.

Labor Minister Adel Fakeih has approved amendments to Article 15 of the executive bylaw by adding cases when recruitment applications could be rejected. Nearly four million guest workers have arrived in the Kingdom on ‘free visas.’

“If any firm presented an application to the ministry or labor office providing fake information and was confirmed after inspection, all recruitment procedures for that firm will be stopped and the visas issued for that firm will be canceled,” the new law said.

KSA needs 4 million expatriate workers

Saudi Arabia will require more than four million foreign workers during the next 10 years to carry out gigantic industrial and infrastructure projects including the Riyadh-Jeddah railway and build economic cities, a prominent Alkhobar-based Indian businessman said.

“Saudi Arabia is a virgin market with many business and investment opportunities. Many giant projects are under construction including the GCC railway, the GCC power grid and Jazan Economic City. All these projects will require at least four million new foreign workers in the coming years,” Siddeek Ahmed, CMD of Eram Group, told Arab News.

King Abdullah extends amnesty period till November 4, 2013

JEDDAH: King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has extended by four months the amnesty period for undocumented expatriates in the Kingdom to correct their status.

A royal order cited by a Ministry of Interior statement and carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday said the original three-month grace period, which ends on July 4, will be extended to the end of the current Hijra year 1434, equivalent to November 4, 2013.

Once the new deadline expires, inspections by appropriate agencies such as the Ministries of Labor and Interior, will resume inspections in various regions of the Kingdom and all penalties will apply on violators, the statement said.

With this new deadline, the Ministries of Interior and Labor urged all undocumented expatriates who have yet to register to come forward and have their status corrected.

Legal Workers Who Were Never Handed Iqamas

With hardly a week left for the three-month grace period to end, the fate of thousands of expatriates who are not in possession of their iqamas or even know the number, hangs in balance. Worse still is the situation of those expatriates who not only do not have a clue about their iqamas but do not have their passports with them either.

Cases of missing Iqamas

It is mandatory for illegal workers to at least give their iqama number if not produce it before the Saudi passport authorities to facilitate exit from the Kingdom or rectify their job status.

It’s common practice for sponsors in remote villages not to hand over iqamas to their employees like drivers, farm workers and shepherds, mainly to prevent them from running away. In several cases, the sponsors do not even apply for iqamas for their employees once they land in Saudi Arabia. Such expats do not have any documents, and at times like this, they are the worst hit.