Day One: 1,066 Illegals Nabbed
Checking under way on the main thoroughfare in Umluj. — SPA
RIYADH — The ministries of interior and labor announced on Monday that intensive crackdown on violators of residency and labor laws will continue unabated across the Kingdom and no violators will be spared.
Violators will face stringent penalties, including fines up to SR100,000, two-year imprisonment, deportation and a ban on recruitment, the ministries warned in a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Reports from across the Kingdom showed that a total of 1,066 violators were arrested on the first day of the campaign.
According to the statement, the inspection campaign aims at punishing those who work or stay in the Kingdom in violation of the regulations as well as those firms or individuals who give them job or transportation or shelter or engage in cover-up (tasattur) business.
Penalties will be applied against sponsors and their employees who work for their personal gains, expatriates working with employers other than their sponsors, and foreigners who overstayed their Haj, Umrah, business and tourism visas. Violators will be detained at specially designated areas, punished and deported.
Employers should not allow those under their sponsorship to work with others or hire illegally those who are under the sponsorship of others or allow their workers to engage in work for their personal gains. Employers should complete procedures to issue or renew residence permits (iqamas) and work permits on time, the ministries said in the statement.
According to the regulations, penalties will be higher for those firms which employ infiltrators. These included fines up to SR100,000, five-year ban on recruitment, two-year imprisonment for the concerned director of the firm and deportation if he is an expatriate, and publicizing the name of the firm.
If any private firm hires any expatriate in violation of the regulations or allows him to work for his personal gain or work with others or employ workers who are not under its sponsorship, then penal action will be taken against it.
Violators among Haj and Umrah service providers will be fined SR100,000 if they fail to inform the concerned authorities about overstaying pilgrims.
The ministries said that those who provide transportation or job or shelter or those who engage in tasattur or any sort of illegal assistance to infiltrators or violators will have to face penal action such as fines up to SR100,000, two-year imprisonment and deportation in case of expatriate, publicizing name, and the confiscation of vehicle used in transporting illegals.
In a move to put an end to the issue of runaway (huroob) workers, the ministries urged the employers to inform the concerned authorities about such cases before the end of their visa period. “In case of any delay in informing the authorities about huroob cases, the violators will be fined up to SR50,000 and face a six-month jail term.