Saudi Arabia: Self-employed expats face jail, fine and deportation
Offence attracts up to six month jail, SR50,000 fine
Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports said self-employed expatriates face penalties, including imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to 50,000 riyals, and deportation.
The authorities called for reporting violators of the residency and border security regulations by calling 911 in Mecca and Riyadh, and 999 in other regions across Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities arrested 13,795 illegal expatriates in one week as part of a sustained clampdown on foreign violators of the kingdom’s residency, labour and border security laws.
The arrests, made over the period from September 23 to 29, included 5,749 violators of the kingdom’s residency system, 6,228 more violators of the border security rules and 1,818 others who breached the labour regulations.
A total of 84,231 illegal expatriates including 9,035 women, are being subjected to measures, 69,176 others referred to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents while 10,081 other violators have been deported from the kingdom, the paper said.
Saudi authorities have repeatedly warned that those who facilitate the entry of infiltrators into the kingdom or provide them with transportation, shelter or any sort of assistance face penalties of a maximum of 15 years in prison, and a fine of up to SR1 million, as well as confiscation of the transport and the accommodation means, in addition to naming to shame them.