Around 6,000 Indian workers have managed to secure full time employment in Saudi firms and Indian companies in the Kingdom since the correction period was launched on April 6.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Indian consul general in Jeddah, said the diplomatic mission dealt with more than 10,000 Indians and helped them correct their status, either by transferring their sponsorship, renewing their residence permits or changing their professions.
“When we saw the large number of people who came to the consulate asking for work, we invited companies to come and hire regular employees who had corrected their status. We organized three job fairs and more than 200 Saudi and Indian companies participated in these fairs, and around 6,000 Indians got full time jobs as a result,” he said.
The consul general said over 95 percent of the workers were absorbed in contracting and technological sectors, while the remaining 5 percent were hired by engineering, accounting and hotel sectors. Kidwai expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his generosity and humanitarian gesture.
“Extending the amnesty period has helped in getting the market organized and we told our nationals to take advantage of the grace period to correct their status because it will not be offered again. Many nationals were working for other people and in jobs that were contrary to what was stated on their iqamas. This was good for the labor market because foreign workers formerly accepted low pay, and Saudis found it difficult to get jobs. But today, after the correction period, Saudis can get employment easily because salaries are balanced,” he added.
The consul said they faced some problems regarding issues pending with the Passport Department. “Some of our nationals have no entry number because they lost their passports and some of them don’t have photocopies of their passports. We are working to resolve these issues,” he said.
Correction period helped 6,000 Indians find jobs
