Oman: 10,000 illegal residents held

The crackdown against illegal expatriate residents in Oman continued with the arrest of 217 people in two days from different areas of the country, according to a press release from the Manpower Ministry.

“We arrested 129 illegal residents from a town in south-east Oman on Wednesday and 88 were held in Muscat on Tuesday,” Salem Bin Saeed Al Badi, Director General for Labour Welfare at the Manpower Ministry, said.

He revealed that the ministry teams had so far arrested 10,226 illegal residents in the first nine months of this year.

Talking about the illegal expatriate workforce in the country, Al Badi said that most were working as car cleaners, roadside hawkers, illegally transporting passengers or selling vegetable and fruits on the roadside mainly on highways.

He added that the raids carried out by the ministry, sometimes with the help of security forces, were also aimed at ensuring that the jobs set aside for Omani nationals are not taken up by the expatriates.

“We also find many not working for their original employers in violations of the country’s residency laws,” he pointed out.

He said that those caught for working illegally in the country face two-year entry ban under Article (114) of the Labour Law.

He urged the private sector employers to cooperate with the ministry and not employ illegal workers. “We appeal to all residents in Oman to report any illegal worker by calling 80077000,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Manpower Ministry held 631 people during last week for violating the country’s residency laws.