Diplomatic sources have expressed apprehension over the fast-approaching deadline for illegal workers to either leave the Kingdom or correct their work status.
“Thousands have been issued travel documents and are hoping to get exit visas and leave before the deadline ends on July 3. But they may not get their visas and leave before the deadline and could resort to violence,” they said.
They added that the processing of exit visas in Riyadh and Jeddah is very slow.
In Riyadh, for example, only 265 out of 5,577 Filipinos with travel documents have been issued exit visas and have left for the Philippines. In Jeddah, only 300 out of 4,800 have left so far.
Diplomats complained that the process is painstakingly slow. The staff and equipment at the Passport Department offices have not been increased even as the influx of workers has increased.
They also claimed that initially the workers were required to submit a photocopy of the visa with the entry date, but after a month, they changed the requirement. The workers were then asked to furnish the original passport and iqama.
“This has contributed to the delay in the processing of exit visas,” one diplomat said.
They added that workers who could comply with the requirements are sent to the deportation center, given a number and asked to wait for 10 to 15 days before going to the immigration at the airport. The female workers are told to go to the Saudi Social Welfare Administration (SWA).
“The problem, however, is that when they go to the immigration, they are told to go to the Passport Department on King Fahd Road. They are given the runaround,” another diplomat said. Some Saudi businessmen have called for the extension of the grace period, although a report had quoted local authorities as saying that the grace period won’t be extended.
The embassies of countries supplying manpower to the Kingdom have also officially requested Saudi authorities to extend the deadline.
With paperwork for hundreds still undone, diplomats see trouble ahead
