The system of sponsorship for foreign workers was originally introduced to regulate the Kingdom’s labor market.
The system was designed for protecting the interests of both the foreign worker and the Saudi sponsor — and in its early stages, the system worked smoothly.
According to the regulations, both the private and public sectors were allowed to recruit large numbers of necessary foreign workers; the workers were vital to the Kingdom’s development in virtually every field in the boom years. While some people amassed great wealth exploiting the economic possibilities of the boom years, some others resorted to making easy money by getting visas issued for foreign workers even though there was really no need for the workers. Saudis were allowed to bring in foreign workers as long as they had a commercial registration. As years passed, the unrestricted flow of foreign workers into the Kingdom led to abuse and misuse of the sponsorship regulations.
Its misuse by a few unscrupulous sponsors injured the interests of the entire society. Their behavior was also damaging to the good reputation of the Kingdom abroad.
Allowing foreign labor to be brought in by anyone with a commercial registration eventually led to a situation in which sponsors could not find jobs for the workers they had brought in. These workers have flooded the Kingdom’s employment market and their presence has led to Saudi unemployment.
Some sponsors even managed, in one way or another, to bring in hundreds of workers even though they had neither a commercial registration nor any place to employ them. The workers naturally looked for other jobs and this led to illegal practices such as a foreigner working for someone other than his legal sponsor.
The countless ways of disguising employment made it very difficult for the authorities to discover and stop those who were guilty. The Saudis who were responsible for this flood of unnecessary workers could not make a great deal of money from cover-up operations. They in fact did nothing but help foreigners drain away the Kingdom’s wealth. The foreigners who operate private establishments under the cover of Saudi sponsors give only a very small amount every month to their sponsors. Despite the government’s efforts to stop these cover-up operations, many shops and private establishments in the Kingdom are really owned by foreigners. Any visitor to a shop or private establishment can see it for himself.
This economically disastrous situation is essentially the result of our outmoded sponsorship system. Now we should seriously think about changing the evil aspects of the system. Or should we continue with the system at all?
