Over 345,000 illegal expats leave Kingdom under amnesty program

Sharif M. Taha
Foreign workers gather outside Saudi immigration department as they try to get visas and legalise their work situation, in this November 3, 2013 file photo, in Riyadh. (AFP)

RIYADH: The number of illegal expatriates taking advantage of the Kingdom’s amnesty campaign reached 345,089 in the last two months, said Maj. Gen. Daifallah bin Sattam Al-Huwaifi, deputy director general of the Passport Department, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported recently.
The Interior Ministry launched a 90-day amnesty campaign beginning March 29 that asked labor and residence violators to leave the Kingdom without penalties.
The Passport Department has prepared more than one center in every region and province to receive undocumented expats who want to voluntarily leave the country, Al-Huwaifi said.
The designated centers receive expats and finalize their departure procedures on a two-shift schedule, he said.
Al-Huwaifi asked illegal residents and workers to take advantage of the remaining days before the amnesty deadline, which ends June 29. Exemptions for undocumented residents and workers leaving voluntarily include imprisonment, fees, and fines, which are normally applied to violators of residence, employment and border security regulations.
The campaign also aims to help illegal residents leave the country on their own and remain exempt from the “deportee” fingerprint system.
Al-Huwaifi warned that security authorities will track down potential violators after the amnesty period expires and impose strict penalties including imprisonment, fines, deportation and a ban from the entry to Saudi Arabia.
He also warned citizens and residents not to transport, shelter, employ violators of residence, work and border security regulations, or provide them with any means of assistance that may help them stay in the Kingdom.