The Indian Embassy launched a special registration drive on Saturday to assist its overstaying nationals in Saudi Arabia.

The registration counter is open from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

“The Embassy of India has launched a special registration drive as part of its efforts to assist overstaying Indians in the Kingdom.

Around 150 Indian expatriates who have not yet obtained their final exit from the Deportation Center or are facing difficulty in rectifying their status approached the embassy and registered themselves,” said Surinder Bhagat, the embassy’s spokesperson.

“The Indian mission is firm in its resolve to ensure that not a single Indian illegal expatriate remains in the Kingdom after the expiry of the grace period on Nov. 3,” he added.

“The embassy intends to create a database of such Indians and bring it to the notice of Saudi authorities during the three-day registration drive,” he explained.

The embassy has urged all overstaying Indian expatriates to rectify their legal status and approach the embassy or volunteers registered with the embassy immediately in case of

difficulty.

The purpose behind this drive is to establish a database of illegal Indian nationals and document their specific problems in order to explore the possibility of finding a suitable solution for them within the legal framework of the Saudi rules and regulations.

Volunteers registered with the Indian Embassy assisted embassy officials during the drive.

With the final countdown for the amnesty deadline fast approaching, the Indian Embassy earlier reminded overstaying nationals to speed up their work and get their status corrected before the grace period expires. Bhagat indicated that the embassy would remain closed on Oct. 13 on account of Dussehra, however, the special registration counter would be operational to allow undocumented Indian nationals the opportunity to register and avail of the remaining time.