The Council of Ministers has urged all expatriates, who stay in the Kingdom violating its labor and residency regulations, to legalize their status during the current amnesty period that ends on Nov. 3.

The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, warned that punishment would be imposed on illegal workers and their employers as per law, soon after the end of the amnesty.

“The punishment will be applied strictly and the government will not show any leniency,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said after the Cabinet meeting at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

The Ministries of Interior and Labor have repeatedly urged illegal expatriate workers to legalize their residency and labor status during the current amnesty period.

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“You have to take speedy steps to legalize the status of workers by approaching government agencies in compliance with rules and regulations,” the two ministries said in a joint statement recently.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah earlier extended the first three-month amnesty period in response to proposals made by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Interior.

The royal decree extending the amnesty also cited requests made by various foreign embassies that had complained of the “pressure on their missions” from the large numbers of workers seeking to correct their status.

Countries with large numbers of undocumented workers include India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Egypt, Nepal and Yemen.

Embassies of these countries have been making commendable efforts to help their nationals correct their status.