Around 400,000 Nepalese reside in the Kingdom, of which 70,000 are illegal residents, according to a local daily. “The Himalaya”, a Nepalese newspaper, said the Nepalese Embassy in the Kingdom has issued around 35,000 travel documents to illegal Nepalese since April 5. The newspaper pointed out that it was not easy for these Nepalese to leave the country as most of them are unaware of the required procedures. Most of these Nepalese are illiterate and have either run away from their sponsors, changed their profession, or have entered the Kingdom with an Umrah visa. The Nepalese ambassador to the Kingdom said the embassy has established assistance offices in major Saudi cities, and has circulated the necessary information to raise awareness of the Nepalese. The ambassador said there were only a few women who have applied for travel documents. He believes that there are around 80,000 women workers in the Kingdom, of which 90 percent are domestic workers. Expatriates who wish to leave the country have to obtain an exit visa from the Passport Department. The exit visa is issued only after police confirmation that there are no cases against them. The ambassador said more than 92 percent of the Nepalese women have entered the Kingdom through India, and as such, have no records in Nepal. He added that records with the Nepalese foreign employment department show that there are only 688 Nepalese women working in the Kingdom. Saudi authorities have granted violating expatriates a grace period of three months to correct their residency status, after which, violators will be penalized with SR100,000 and a two-year prison sentence. According to reports, around half a million expatriates have corrected their status, and around 180,000 — mostly Asians — have left the Kingdom. There are still around 1.5 million violating expatriates awaiting to leave the country. Meanwhile, the Indian Express newspaper has claimed that there are around 40,000 workers from Andhra Pradesh state who are unable to leave the Kingdom for various reasons. The newspaper said around 2,000 workers have returned to the state during the past few months, and an equal number of them have been issued travel documents but cannot leave the Kingdom for financial reasons. The newspaper pointed out that workers from the state had faced a similar situation in the UAE. A top-ranking minister then visited Dubai and helped the stranded workers get back home. However, there is no similar initiative at present, it said. The newspaper said the Nitaqat program imposes a 10 percent Saudization of jobs, and that the minimum salary for a Saudi computer operator is SR3,000, compared to SR2,000 for the expatriates. The head of the immigrants’ rights forum said that around 75,000 Indians should have left the Kingdom by July 3 when the Saudi amnesty ends. He said discussions with the Indian prime minister did not result in any action. Of the 40,000 workers that are unable to leave the country, 80 percent are from Telangana region, he added. The forum called for the establishment of a ministry for workers abroad, similar to that of Kerala state, and to establish a Rs20 billion fund to support the returning Indian nationals. Around 400,000 Nepalese reside in the Kingdom, of which 70,000 are illegal residents, according to a local daily. “The Himalaya”, a Nepalese newspaper, said the Nepalese Embassy in the Kingdom has issued around 35,000 travel documents to illegal Nepalese since April 5. The newspaper pointed out that it was not easy for these Nepalese to leave the country as most of them are unaware of the required procedures. Most of these Nepalese are illiterate and have either run away from their sponsors, changed their profession, or have entered the Kingdom with an Umrah visa. The Nepalese ambassador to the Kingdom said the embassy has established assistance offices in major Saudi cities, and has circulated the necessary information to raise awareness of the Nepalese. The ambassador said there were only a few women who have applied for travel documents. He believes that there are around 80,000 women workers in the Kingdom, of which 90 percent are domestic workers. Expatriates who wish to leave the country have to obtain an exit visa from the Passport Department. The exit visa is issued only after police confirmation that there are no cases against them. The ambassador said more than 92 percent of the Nepalese women have entered the Kingdom through India, and as such, have no records in Nepal. He added that records with the Nepalese foreign employment department show that there are only 688 Nepalese women working in the Kingdom. Saudi authorities have granted violating expatriates a grace period of three months to correct their residency status, after which, violators will be penalized with SR100,000 and a two-year prison sentence. According to reports, around half a million expatriates have corrected their status, and around 180,000 — mostly Asians — have left the Kingdom. There are still around 1.5 million violating expatriates awaiting to leave the country. Meanwhile, the Indian Express newspaper has claimed that there are around 40,000 workers from Andhra Pradesh state who are unable to leave the Kingdom for various reasons. The newspaper said around 2,000 workers have returned to the state during the past few months, and an equal number of them have been issued travel documents but cannot leave the Kingdom for financial reasons. The newspaper pointed out that workers from the state had faced a similar situation in the UAE. A top-ranking minister then visited Dubai and helped the stranded workers get back home. However, there is no similar initiative at present, it said. The newspaper said the Nitaqat program imposes a 10 percent Saudization of jobs, and that the minimum salary for a Saudi computer operator is SR3,000, compared to SR2,000 for the expatriates. The head of the immigrants’ rights forum said that around 75,000 Indians should have left the Kingdom by July 3 when the Saudi amnesty ends. He said discussions with the Indian prime minister did not result in any action. Of the 40,000 workers that are unable to leave the country, 80 percent are from Telangana region, he added. The forum called for the establishment of a ministry for workers abroad, similar to that of Kerala state, and to establish a Rs20 billion fund to support the returning Indian nationals.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:54:33 +0000
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