Abdullah Maarouf, head of the Burmese community in Saudi Arabia, on Monday welcomed Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal’s decision to extend the residency permits of Burmese expatriates in the Kingdom by one year.

Maarouf told Arab News that the governor’s decision would benefit more than 100,000 Burmese expatriates. He said that more than 50,000 Burmese have already corrected their residency and work status during the correction period.

The one-year extension period represents the second phase of the correction program for Burmese expats. The first phase will come to an end on Nov. 3.

Accordingly, the committee supervising the program will stop receiving applications from Burmese as of next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Abullah Al-Qurashi, general supervisor of the committee for correcting the residency status of the Burmese community in Makkah, said that the committee has completed the paper work of nearly 199,000 Burmese who have applied to correct their status, noting that they came from eight different cities in the Kingdom. According to reports, there are roughly 34,000 individuals who are expected to submit their applications during the first phase of the program, pointing out that the committee has completed issuing residency permits to 11,000 Burmese during the second phase.

Al-Qurashi explained that the application passes through several stages. Applicants are given appointments to meet with the correction commission and are informed about these appointments through one of three channels— the Burmese community’s website, by directly contacting applicants through the office of the head of the community, and through the councils of the neighborhoods where they reside. Upon completion, the applicants are ratified by a conformity seal and are electronically registered.

Al-Qurashi noted that the committee is taking into account the circumstances of elderly applicants and individuals with special needs by providing them with wheelchairs and giving them priority in reviewing their applications, noting that in some instances, they are provided with medical care.

Al-Qurashi said that expatriates must apply before the end of the correction period or else they will be subject to penalties as per labor laws and their cases will not be considered for status correction.