Saudi authorities to punish illegal violators after amnesty period ends

Ministries of Interior and Labor have started sending text messages to citizens, companies and establishments warning them against employing illegal expatriates and having financial dealings with them.

The messages warn companies and individuals against providing cover to the undocumented expatriates and those overstaying their visa period. Providing shelter to any illegal expatriate is punishable under the law and the punishment increases with the number of violations, the message said.

Informed sources in the Ministry of Labor said special teams have been formed to inspect work places to check on illegal expatriate workers once the November 3 amnesty for status correction ends.

Each team will have two inspectors and security support in some locations. They have been empowered to arrest violating workers after the amnesty, sources said.

The Ministry of Labor is also planning to hold a workshop for all directors of labor offices in the kingdom to revise and study the mechanism to carry out post-amnesty inspection campaigns.

The ministries have also asked all undocumented expatriates to benefit from the remaining days of the amnesty to correct their status. After the grace period, the ministries said, punishment rules will be strictly implemented. There is no room for leniency, they said.

Penalties include imprisonment up to two years and fines reaching 100,000 Saudi riyals for employing, transporting or sheltering illegal expatriates, the ministries said.

This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette.