An Indian expat has been facing difficulties during the last 13 years in the Kingdom, and is awaiting a solution to his sponsorship problem.

“I have spent 21 years of my life here without traveling because of my sponsorship problem, thus spending half of my life in Saudi Arabia for practically nothing,” said 41-year-old Mohammed Nasar.

“I requested Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman, and the royal court to help me go back to my country with an exit visa instead of deportation or transfer of sponsorship,” he said.

I am thankful to them for their kindness in granting us a three-month grace period to allow us to rectify our status, he said.

Nasar said his employer has refused to renew his iqama or give him an exit visa, thereby preventing the transfer of his sponsorship.

The distressed Indian said his problems first started when he took five days off from work in Al-Baha to tend to his mother, who had suffered an accident in Makkah.

“I had informed my supervisor about my emergency leave, but a project manager in Al-Baha has a personal grudge against me.

“Prince Muhammad bin Saud, the former governor of Al-Baha, ordered to cancel the report against me, but this was to no avail,” he said.

Nasar said that the director of immigration referred him to the labor office in Riyadh, but nothing happened. “When I reported my problem to human rights associations, officials told me to wait.

“During this time, the mental torture of moving around the courts has taken its toll on me.”

Nasar said he is thankful to a Filipino family who helped him financially and sent him almost SR 200,000 during this time,” he said.

“I am also thankful to the Filipino community and their ambassador for helping me to obtain a multiple visa for one year to be with my daughter who has moved to the Philippines and is living and studying alone.”