Abdullah Al-Karash, the supervisor general of the program to legalize the status of Burmese nationals residing in the Kingdom, revealed that more than 130,000 Burmese have normalized their status by being granted residency permits for four years free of charge.
There are more than 250,000 Burmese living in the Kingdom and the status of the remaining 120,000 will be rectified by the end of the current Hijri year, Al-Karash asserted.
“The work is progressing well,” the supervisor general said, adding, “the information center, which has been established for this purpose, now contains all the details on
Burmese nationals residing in the Kingdom, including their health, social, educational and professional status.”
Explaining the procedure of the rectification process, he said the Burmese have been given free residence permits for the first four years and that they would have to pay 50 percent of the permit fees after the four years have passed. He pointed out that they would be allowed to work in the private sector as well, highlighting that more than 3,000 Burmese have been officially employed in different companies and have successfully transferred their sponsorships.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Marouf, secretary general of the Burmese community, told local press sources that 600 cases are still pending with the committee responsible for rectifying the status of the Burmese community, expecting the number to increase to 3,000 cases by the end of amnesty extension.
Most of the pending cases, he added, are Burmese widows with under-age children. “The committee will look into these cases and decide on which cases are entitled for correction.”
The committee will consist of three departments, he explained, adding, “The first is the identification department, which will define persons’ identity. The second is the defense team, which is headed by the present secretary-general to study the legal, humanitarian and social conditions of each case, and finally, there is the corrective commission.”
Marouf pointed out that the corrective commission is headed by a governorate official and includes the Passports Department, Labor Office, the Police and the head of the Burmese community.
The Burmese correction committee recently issued binding directions to its members that they should take vaccines for diphtheria and meningitis and record their name on the vaccination card.
Abdul Aziz Al-Khudairi, deputy governor of the Makkah region, earlier revealed that members of the Burmese community residing in the Kingdom would be required to take the aforementioned vaccines as a condition for rectifying their process.
Al-Khudairi said that the governorate took into consideration the health condition of seniors and elders and persons of special needs. “They were given priority in terms of procedures and were provided with wheelchairs, medication and other health care services as well,” he concluded.
More than 130,000 Burmese legalize residency status
