Drive against illegal expats ‘still ongoing’

Maj. Gen. Suleiman Al-Yahya, director general of passports, confirmed to local media that his official body will not conduct a new correction campaign in the coming two weeks, dismissing what has been circulated on social networking sites, and describing such news as mere rumors.
He said the passport and security authorities will implement on Sunday an intensive security campaign to crack down on residency violators in the Kingdom.
“All measures are in place in this regard, in terms of the regulatory procedures, the formation of the administrative committees that will decide on the application of the regulations and laws, and the preparation of the locations that will accommodate any possible inflow of violators until the time that they leave the Kingdom for their original countries,” he explained.
Al-Yahya warned against covering-up or sheltering violators, affirming that the crackdown efforts of the security bodies are continuous. He urged citizens and legal residents to shelter, employ, or commute violators, warning them of dealing with them on the security, economic and health levels.
“There are actually positive indicators that the citizens increasingly cooperate with us on the security efforts level, in terms of the high sense of the importance of security and the need to participate in the defense efforts of our country,” he added.
He said the sanctions imposed on violators of the residency regulations involve fines, imprisonment, detention or all combined, according to the decisions of bodies of jurisdiction.
He confirmed the Passport Department is moving to expand and boost the electronic services and dealings in general.
“Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, is very keen on the automation of many passport services to ease the whole process on citizens and residents so that they can complete their transactions from their homes across the Kingdom via the Internet,” said Al-Yahya.
He confirmed that the department will not dismiss any of its employees once the full electronic dealings are in place.