Calls made to punish tardy paperwork agents

Expats have said that paperwork agents, known as “muaqqibeen,” are responsible for delays in acquiring official documentation.
A sponsor delegates the completion of formalities to these agents, as expatriates are not allowed to deal directly with government departments.
The paperwork agent carries out various tasks, such as recruitment on behalf of the commissioner, renewal and transfer of residency permits and even the termination of services.
Ahmed Al-Nasri, an Egyptian citizen, said, “When the corrective period was announced, I rushed to legalize my status by transferring my residency to a new sponsor.”
He noted that according to the new rules, his case should not have taken a long time.
However, he has been following up with the paperwork agent for three months to enquire as to why his case is still not finalized. The agent eventually admitted that he had lost his papers.
The muaqqib showed no remorse for the difficulty he had put Al-Nasri in, the time lost and the expenses that were required to replace the lost documents. When Al-Nasri went to his sponsor to tell him what happened, he replied, “I do not have anything to offer you. You have to continue following up with the agent,” Al-Nasri explained.
Problems with agents do not end there. Saad Al-Samail, a small-time trader with medium-sized projects, said he used to do all the paperwork himself at the beginning of his career.
After his business expanded, he had to delegate documentation work to paperwork agents.
One of his agents eventually quit. While Al-Samail did not object to letting him work for another company, he expected him to finalize pending paperwork. The two-day process to complete his official paperwork has now taken more than two weeks. “When I asked the paperwork agent about the delay, he said it was no longer in his hands and requested more money to get the job done,” said Al-Samail.
Paperwork agents do not only take advantage of expats, but also citizens, he said.
Citizens have demanded protection and accountability on the part of the agents. “It is unreasonable for such people to fail to recognize the seriousness of their work. The government should have laws to prosecute negligent agents,” he said.
Bashir Alrani, a human resources specialist at a private company, said that paperwork agents should be fluent in reading and writing and have the ability to deal with government agencies.
Ahmed Al-Lehaidan, general manager of the Saudi Arabian Passports Department, said paperwork agents should execute their job in accordance with their contract and that failure to fulfill their jobs is not the responsibility of the Passport Department. “The department is only required to ensure that the agent’s work is done properly and correctly. The prosecution of their negligence is the responsibility of other departments,” he said.
The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, criticized agents for committing residency violations and wrongfully requesting large sums of money, pointing out that such an abuse of trust keeps expatriate workers hostage to sponsors and the agents themselves.