JEDDAH, 8 June 2006 — Saudis and expatriates seemed split on the government’s decision to restrict Umrah visas to those over 40. Unfair, cried expatriates. Fair enough, said Saudis. Nobody should abuse the spiritual aspect of Islam for material gains, they insisted.
Adil Balkhair, the assistant deputy minister for Umrah affairs, said on Tuesday that the authorities decided to stop issuing Umrah visas to individuals under 40 who come alone from nine countries — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Chad.
“The decision was taken with a view to checking the problem of overstayers,” Balkhair said, adding that it was made after studying all aspects of the worsening problem.
Muhammad Saeed Al-Baghdadi, a Jeddah-based Saudi businessman, welcomed the move. “It is a sensible and appropriate step. Umrah is not obligatory and using it as the pretext for illegal stay is certainly something that warrants serious action. Many people from South Asian and African countries, abetted by unscrupulous agents back home, come here for jobs. They stay and work illegally. This is bad for our economy,” he said.
“It affects the Kingdom’s plans to provide more jobs for local people. The influx of illegal workers coming on Umrah has hampered the Saudization drive. Denying potential illegal workers the opportunity to sneak into the country and work illegally is, in my opinion, a very reasonable and good decision,” Al-Baghdadi added.
Ghalib Al-Ghamdi, a Saudi bank executive in Jeddah, called the decision good. “This loophole in our immigration laws has long been exploited by foreigners keen on staying illegally here and looking for jobs.”
He said he had spoken to many Indians who told him how their friends used this method to get into the country and look for work. “But I still think the government should take further measures to restrict entry only to legitimate pilgrims and work visa-holders,” Al-Ghamdi added.
Expatriates were understandably miffed.
“This arbitrary decision will certainly affect millions of genuine pilgrims who want to come here to perform Umrah,” said Muhammad Iqbal, an Indian expatriate worker based in Jeddah. “The Saudi government must look for some positive actions to address the problem of undocumented foreigners overstaying their Umrah and Haj visas.”
Habib Arifuddin, who works as a translator at an advertisement agency in Jeddah, blamed the local Arabic media for exaggerating the problems caused by undocumented migrants. According to him, the Haj Ministry should have consulted Islamic scholars and concerned Muslim officials in other countries before taking such a decision. “I am afraid the new decision will affect Saudi Arabia’s standing in the Islamic world.”
Arifuddin hoped that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah would overturn the ban. “The nine countries whose pilgrims have been affected by the ban have a large Muslim population and it would affect the Kingdom’s strategic relations with them,” he said.
M.A. Mirza from Riyadh said the new move, while understandable from the Saudi government’s point of view, could affect genuine cases, especially if the intending pilgrims are bachelors and wish to perform Haj or Umrah and return to their respective countries.
“Many young people,” he said, “have realized the need to perform these religious duties as early as possible after reading reports in the last several years of how old pilgrims become casualties during stampedes that have become a regular phenomenon lately. These young people would be affected by the latest move. I am against the ban.”
Mohamed A. Ramady, visiting associate professor at Dhahran’s King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, said the decision will have a long-term positive impact on the Saudi labor market.
“Some younger Umrah visitors have abused this all-year-round-visit hospitality and overstayed looking for work. This has dragged down wages for Saudis, especially for semi-skilled and certain skilled jobs, causing resentment as well as an excuse for some private sector companies not to hire Saudi labor,” Ramady said.
According to one Western expatriate, the Saudi government should allow Muslims to perform only one Haj in their lifetimes and one Umrah.
“In these days of computers, iris recognition and other technology should be used to control those coming for both Haj and Umrah,” said Edward Flood, a longtime Jeddah resident.
“Probably people from certain countries are more likely to abuse this privilege and they should be checked very closely.”
Some expatriates that Arab News spoke to said people from these countries would sidestep this latest restriction by coming into the Kingdom with groups on Umrah visas.
