Workers who have entered Saudi Arabia illegally and have no documentation proving the identity of their current employers will not be allowed to apply for work permits under the labor concessions announced earlier this month by the government.
Such workers will have to return to authorities, said the Ministry of Labor on its website in response to questions posted by expatriates.
The government recently announced a three-month grace period ending on July 3 for all qualifying workers to correct their status or go home.
According to the ministry, all applicants must hold a passport stamped with an entry visa to the Kingdom, or a residency permit (iqama), to benefit from the deadline and qualify to correct their status.
The ministry said workers of all nationalities can sort out their documentation without having to pay normal penalties and fines.
Businesses are permitted to bypass set Nitaqat quotas to facilitate the correction process and accommodate those wishing to correct their status.
However, this does not include pending applications. Those businesses-involved must have valid licenses.
Worker can change their professions — except for jobs permitted only for Saudis — as required by the employer, and in accordance with the qualifications of the worker and governing regulations of these positions.
Employers must ensure that workers have appropriate and necessary qualifications when changing their professions or positions. Workers can easily change their professions online through the ministry’s electronic services system, free of charge. Those wishing to change jobs that require professional certification, such as medical and engineering positions, are required to visit the ministry’s office to do so.
There are four ways workers can correct or change their status during the corrective grace period: Return to work for their original employers and cancel his or her runaway report; transfer to a new employer in the green or platinum zones; amend their profession and scope of work, regardless of the scope of the business and its activities; or leave the country after meeting all necessary fees and fines and registering their fingerprints.
Those who entered the Kingdom for Haj or Umrah before July 3, 2008, domestic and runaway workers will be allowed to correct their status.
Runaway workers who return to their employers, transfer services, or opt for final departure will be allowed to cancel reports that they are runaways.
The ministry added that there would not be an extension of the grace period beyond July 3.
Infiltrators excluded from labor concessions
