Expats in Saudi Arabia face fines, jail and deportation for visa violations as the police crackdown on illegal workers.Saudi Arabia has around 9 million expat workers including many Sri Lankans – down a million from last year after the government offered an amnesty to those living and working in the country illegally.

 

The Saudi government decided to enforce strict immigration laws that have been ignored for decades in a bid to avoid an Arab Spring style revolt by offering more locals jobs ahead of imported labour.

 

Most of the millions of expat workers are employed as unskilled workers, but the new rules apply to senior expat professionals and managers who may have lived in the country for many years and overlooked their visa status.

 

Falling foul of the new rules could lead to penalties from fines to imprisonment, confiscation of assets like cars and homes or deportation.

 

Tough penalties

 

First time offenders can expect to pay a £1,250 fine and be deported. Anyone returning to Saudi and caught without a visa again will face tougher penalties.

 

Employers giving jobs to expats who do not have visas also face punishment, said the Interior Ministry.

 

The ministry seems to have no idea of how many expats are breaking visa rules as no proper immigration records seem to have been kept for many years.

 

Some estimate the number could run into millions.

 

Visa regulations call for all expats to have employer sponsorship and ban self-employment.

 

The government argues that expats setting up their own businesses or moonlighting for more than one employer are stopping Saudi nationals from finding jobs.

 

Jobless rate

 

The jobless rate in Saudi Arabia runs at around 12%, but that is dwarfed by the two-thirds of working age Saudis who are not actively seeking work.

 

The government has a tight grip on public sector jobs, but now wants to open up the private sector to Saudi workers rather than expats. However, many nationals do not have the skills or inclination to take on the work.

 

“The policy to enforce visa laws has seen large numbers of Saudis take up jobs that were previously held by workers from outside the country who were here illegally,” said Labour Minister Adel al-Fakeih.

 

“We have seen the number of Saudis in work double in the past two years.”

 

Saudi Arabia has large expat communities from Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines.