Saudi Arabia arrests 21,222 violators of immigration and labour laws in a week

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has deported more than 10,000 expatriates in just one week as part of a nationwide crackdown aimed at enforcing immigration, labour and border security laws, the Ministry of Interior has announced.

Between February 13 and February 19, government inspections detected 21,222 violations across the Kingdom, according to official data. Among these infractions, residency law breaches accounted for 13,202 cases, followed by 4,911 related to border security and 3,109 labour law violations.

During the same period, authorities apprehended 1,376 individuals attempting to enter the country illegally, with the majority coming from Ethiopia (58 per cent) and Yemen (40 per cent), along with a smaller group from other nations. Eighty-six others were detained for trying to exit the Kingdom illegally.

The government intensified efforts to curb illegal immigration networks by arresting 22 people accused of transporting, sheltering, or employing undocumented residents.

The Interior Ministry emphasized that it maintains a zero-tolerance stance against anyone facilitating such violations, warning of severe penalties including imprisonment for up to 15 years, fines of up to 1 million Saudi Riyals ($266,000), and potential seizure of vehicles and properties involved in these crimes.

Currently, more than 40,500 expatriates, including around 4,300 women, remain in custody undergoing legal processing.

Of these, about 30,874 detainees have been instructed to contact their embassies or consulates to obtain travel documents, while an additional 3,910 were directed to prepare departure arrangements. Authorities confirmed that 10,170 individuals were already deported.