Those who come to perform Haj and Umrah and then do not leave — are a peculiarly Saudi issue, indeed a peculiarly Western Region one. But immigrants have been around for centuries. Probably most of the native population of Jeddah have at least one ancestor who came to perform Haj and then stayed. The difference between now and then, though, are the numbers involved and the necessary existence of a complex system controlling entry to the Kingdom, involving passports, visas, immigration controls and checkpoints and the like. Pilgrims are welcome but they have to leave. It has to be so: Saudi Arabia is not only the home to the two Holy Mosques and therefore spiritual home to the world’s billion-plus Muslims, it is a working state and needs to control who and what comes in and goes out and ensure a decent quality of life for those who live and work in the country.
There is no official figure for overstayers because by their very nature they are under the radar. But it is thought to run into tens of thousands, possibly even more. Of course, not all illegal immigrants in the Kingdom have stayed on after Haj or Umrah; some came legally to work and did not return home when their iqama ran out. Others have snuck in without any documentation, especially across the Yemen border region. But Umrah and Haj overstayers are thought to account for the lion’s share of illegal immigrants; applying for an Umrah visa is an easy way to get into the Kingdom.
Unique though the problem of overstayers may be for Saudi Arabia in the form it takes, it is fundamentally the same problem faced by the US, France, the UK and other developed economy; Saudi Arabia’s prosperity, like that of Europe and North America, attracts people. So long as there is poverty in the world and economic disparities between countries, there will always be economic migrants, illegals, undocumented migrants, overstayers — call them what you will.
Last week’s decision to restrict Umrah visas to group pilgrimages in the case of Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian, Nigerian, Chadian and some other pilgrims may go some way to ease the local problem — but is it going to stop individual members of a group from disappearing? There is no simple answer. A raft of measures is needed, including the use of greater technology to link who is leaving to who came in; punitive fines for those who employ illegal immigrants; and a clampdown on the gangs and corruption surrounding illegal migrants. Most of all, there has to be an economic incentive for overstayers to return home.
The only sure way to ending mass illegal migration is by improving the economy in the migrants’ home country. That means investment in infrastructure and development in Africa and parts of Asia. There will be many Saudis who say: “No, it’s not our responsibility.” That might be true, but it is in Saudi Arabia’s interests to be involved in global development. Otherwise the tide of humanity will continue to find ways of getting into the Kingdom and staying on.
