Indian Embassy hires extra staff to process distressed workers

The Indian Embassy in Riyadh is getting more staff to help process an unprecedented number of distressed workers approaching the embassy to correct their work status.
Deputy chief of the mission Sibi George told Arab News yesterday that 62,000 workers had now registered across the country. “We are getting more than 1,500 people a day and we have to work around the clock to cope with this rush," the diplomat said. He said 50,000 men had registered at the mission in Riyadh and 12,000 in Jeddah during the first month of the three-month grace period announced recently by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
The additional staff will arrive this week to ease the pressure on existing embassy personnel, he said.
He called for volunteers to help the mission. Those interested can send their names, addresses, passport numbers and contact details to the embassy. They can also register by email to wel.riyadh@mea.gov.in, with a copy to dcm.riyadh@mea.gov.in and hoc.riyadh@mea.gov.in. The embassy would contact volunteers and advise them on the next step in the process, the official said.
George said the mission has asked Indian nationals to make use of the grace period. He pointed out that those who have registered are mainly overstayers and runaway workers.
“We have two million workers in the Kingdom which is the largest concentration of workers in the Middle East. The number of overstayers is negligible compared to the number of Indians in the Kingdom.” Indian expatriates in the Kingdom are well liked by their sponsors, well-disciplined and law abiding,” George said.
“We are also providing legal assistance to those who need such services and the embassy staff is dedicated to serve every distressed Indian,” the diplomat said.
All Indian workers who traveled to Saudi Arabia legally will be allowed to regularize their visa status, get new jobs or return to India if they choose to register voluntarily with the Saudi authorities during the grace period, he said.
The embassy has also urged all Indians affected by the Nitaqat program and those overstaying in Saudi Arabia to register their names at the Ministry of Labor website www.redyellow.com.sa. This site is checked regularly by various Saudi companies looking for Indian workers.
The Ministry of Labor will soon issue a series of measures aimed at helping expatriate workers regularize their stay in the Kingdom or return to their countries. “Those workers volunteering to utilize the three-month period and have no legal issues pending against them will not be blacklisted and will be allowed to return to Saudi Arabia with appropriate visas,” the diplomat said. They would also not have to go through deportation centers.