JEDDAH: Passport Department officials in Jeddah have said they are considering new measures to curb the phenomenon of illegal residents taking shelter under the city’s flyovers. The new measures include severe punishments besides fingerprinting of everyone coming to the Kingdom for whatever purpose, including Haj and Umrah.
Director of the Passport Department in Makkah province, Brig. Muhammad Al-Asmari, underlined the importance of abiding by the residence regulations and said the system of taking fingerprints would reduce the phenomenon of overstaying.
Bridges in the city are being used as shelters by a large number of visa overstayers who are unable to travel home either because they cannot afford the ticket prices or have lost their passports.
The favorite resting spots for these illegally staying foreigners are the King Fahd Bridge near the Deportation Center and the Mina (Seaport) Bridge in Ghulail district. These areas represent a confluence of a number of unorganized south Jeddah neighborhoods where a large number of illegal residents are thought to be sheltering.
Many of the people living under these bridges mainly are those who want to go home after staying in the Kingdom illegally for long periods. Many of them have lost their passports and other identification documents without which they cannot travel. They now wait for the passport officials to arrest and deport them from the country.
Most of these people came to the Kingdom to perform Haj or Umrah and then opted to stay on to look for jobs. Some of them have been living in the country for many years. There are others with valid residence permits but have escaped from their legal employers for various reasons, including nonpayment of wages.
Hussain Al-Sharif, supervisor of the Makkah’s branch of the National Society for Human Rights, said some foreign consular missions do not follow up on the cases of their citizens by appointing lawyers or representatives and this is one of the reasons why many legally employed people end up in this situation unable to return home.
A source at the Ministry of Haj told Arab News that the ministry, in collaboration with other concerned parties, was able to curb the phenomenon of Haj pilgrims overstaying in the Kingdom. He, however, admitted that it was difficult to control overstaying by Umrah pilgrims because Umrah is open throughout the year and not limited to a certain season. But he said regulations are being developed to deal with this matter.
The source said the new regulations stipulate prison sentences of up to six months, fines or both for those who remain in the Kingdom after the expiry of their visas.
The Passport Department constantly warns citizens and expatriates against providing shelter, protection, work or transport to overstayers saying anyone violating the rules and regulations in this respect might be imprisoned for six months or asked to pay a fine of SR10,000.
