Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor (MoL) will raid districts in south Jeddah after the amnesty ends on Nov. 3, a social expert said.

Ali Awad told Arab News that the ministry would target these areas because 70 percent of the expatriates living there do not have legal residency permits. They are mostly Pakistanis, Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Nepalese, Yemenis and Africans who have been staying in the Kingdom for years after overstaying their Umrah and Haj visas.

Awad said: “Many southern districts in Jeddah such as Al-Nuslah, Al-Hindawyah and Al-Sabeel among others have a lot of illegal expatriates. They are unable to correct their status because they cannot be hired by employers.

“Most of them beg on the streets or work as housemaids in the homes of illegal expatriates. Some African expatriates, especially in the neighboring industrial city of Jeddah, are wanted by security officials. These districts are notorious for creating trouble.” The police raided these districts before the start of the amnesty period. Officials from the Ministry of Interior would be involved in the raids this time, he said.

Nawaf Al-Bouq, spokesman for Jeddah police, said: “There are regular inspection campaigns in these areas to arrest illegal workers.”

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah extended the initial three-month amnesty period because of the pressure on missions to help millions of workers rectify their status.

The decree had also warned of a crackdown on illegal workers after the amnesty ends. Hundreds of thousands of undocumented expatriate workers, including overstaying pilgrims and runaway workers, who had escaped from their employers, have rectified their status.