Diplomats and expatriate workers have welcomed calls from Saudi businesspeople and economists for the Saudi government to extend the July 3 deadline for workers to rectify their status.
They were reacting to an editorial and news story published on the front page of Arab News on Thursday.
The editorial argued that the labor department would "be unable to handle" the documentation of an estimated 1.5 million illegal expatriates before the deadline. A total of 500,000 workers have already rectified their status.
The editorial and news story outlined the concerns of Saudi business owners and economists on the potential effect on the economy, in terms of staffing and especially "in the run-up to Ramadan, which is traditionally the busiest period for the retail sector."
In his response yesterday, Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said that the Philippine Embassy had earlier officially asked the Saudi authorities for an extension and said this was now up to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
“We are, however, working hard for the issuance of the necessary documents for those who have decided to be deported and those who want to correct their status so that they can continue working in the Kingdom after finding a new sponsor,” he said.
Available data showed that since May 11, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has processed and issued 5,100 travel documents while the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah has processed 2,420 travel documents.
The Indian Embassy also welcomed the call. Deputy Chief of Mission Sibi George said: “The decision on this will be made by the Saudi government and if it extends the grace period, we'd welcome it.”
He told Arab News that illegal Indian workers have been serious about legalizing their status and the embassy “is hoping to complete the procedure within the grace period.”
Some 75,000 Indian expatriates have approached the embassy and more than half of them have completed the necessary procedures.
Pakistani Embassy Welfare Attaché Moeenuddin said: “We would welcome it if the Saudi government extends the grace period. We need the extension of the grace period because we want to clear the status of all illegal Pakistani workers in the Kingdom.”
The embassy has registered 22,000 illegal Pakistani workers and issued 8,000 outpasses.
Illegal workers still correcting their status have also welcomed the calls. An Indian expatriate said that “time is needed for him and others to complete the procedure for their deportation.” Teresita Sapno, a Filipino household service worker, hopes the deadline could be extended because she is still in the process of correcting her status.
Calls to extend deadline welcomed
