Status of Saudi-born expats still unclear

The Ministry of Interior is to rule on whether expatriates born in the Kingdom are exempt from Saudization rules, Labor Ministry spokesman Hattab Al-Enaizi told Arab News yesterday.
He said he could neither confirm nor deny local media reports saying Saudi-born expatriates are exempt from Nitaqat rules.
He said that there was no information about new procedures to correct the status of expatriates born in the Kingdom. They were still obliged to comply with the local labor laws and use the three-month grace period to rectify their status with their employers, he added.
Arab expatriates born in Saudi Arabia say they cannot return to their home country. At the same time, they face many obstacles in finding a job to continue living in the Kingdom while being confused about rumors alleging that expatriates who are born in the Kingdom will be considered as Saudis under the Nitaqat program.
A source at the Ministry of Labor explained that all residents born in the Kingdom were the responsibility of the Interior Ministry, pointing out that any Palestinian who had travel documents would be considered within the Nitaqat program as a quarter expatriate, not a quarter of a citizen. This means that four Palestinians are equivalent to one expatriate employee, according to a local newspaper.
King Abdullah had ordered the Interior and Labor ministries to allow workers violating the labor and residency system a maximum of three months to rectify their situation. Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih had previously said: “First, the king considered the humanitarian aspect of expatriates while providing them a final chance to comply with residency regulations.
“Secondly, the decision gave private establishments in the green category the option of hiring expatriates who live in the Kingdom and whose residency status has been rectified instead of recruiting new workers from abroad. This is a great opportunity to increase the number of Saudis in the private sector. Private establishments should benefit from this decision and hire Saudi male and female workers.”