Govt goes full throttle to correct expat status

JEDDAH| ARAB NEWS |Sunday 12 May 2013 The Ministry of Labor has ordered all the labor offices to work in the evening and on Thursdays, if required, during the grace period as it expects a heavy rush of applications for rectification of residence and labor status of expats following Friday’s announcement of concessions. Ninety percent of the services for expats are done online to avoid long queues at labor offices. Labor Minister Adel Fakeih met late last night with diplomats from labor-supplying countries in a closed-door meeting in Riyadh to discuss the new regulations governing expatriate labor. Representatives from Pakistan India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Philippines and other countries participated. One South Asian diplomat described the meeting as “excellent.” Meanwhile, tens of thousands of illegals have registered with their consulates over the past 30 days in an effort to get airline tickets, consulates and embassy officials told Arab News. An estimated 6,000 Pakistanis, 60,000 Indians, nearly 10,000 Filipinos, 7,000 Sri Lankans and other nationalities have sought permission to leave the Kingdom. Mohamed Nazmul Islam, consul general of Bangladesh, told Arab News that those who registered themselves with the consulate earlier to go home are now seeking transfers of iqamas following the announcement. Expat teachers have found little relief in Friday’s announcement, as the Ministries of Labor and Interior have not covered expats under the sponsorship of relatives in their concessions. School authorities have expressed concern regarding the transfer of iqamas of female staff. First, teachers want a guarantee that they can transfer their iqamas to the sponsorship of their fathers or husbands in case their contracts are terminated. Second, if their male guardians lose jobs, they may be allowed to continue residing in the Kingdom on a “mahram” status since women need male guardians to live in the Kingdom. Finally, the schools should give workers family status should they decide to transfer their iqamas to the schools’ sponsorship.