DAMMAM: Hundreds of Syrians crowded ATM machines following a rumor about correcting their residency status for a fee of SR2,500 per person. But the General Passport Directorate denied these rumors and confirmed that there are no correction campaigns on the position of Syrians.

Syrians said when they heard the news they deposited a sum of SR2,500 but the bank returned those after 24 hours, saying the rumors spread in Jeddah and then moved to Dammam and Alkhobar. The Syrians tried to communicate with the Eastern Province Passports Department, which confirmed that they haven’t received any decisions in this respect from the Ministry of Interior.

The Passports General Directorate said a resident ID will be issued instead of a residency permit, saying nationalities haven’t been defined yet and they don’t include visitors but holders of regular residency visas.

Ahmad Al-Halabi, a Syrian visitor, said he paid SR7,500 to get a temporary residency visa and after four days the sum was returned to him. He said the matter is just a rumor from an unknown source because he went to the Eastern Province Passports Department and they said there were no decisions in this matter.

Ala Sharif, a Syrian visitor, said they took the matter seriously and most Syrians linked the rumor to the correction of status for Yemenis.

In a related matter, a number of Syrian visitors acquired various jobs in coordination with private sector establishments and labor offices in the area. The Ministry of Labor stressed that non-resident Syrian visitors who work in the Kingdom are violating the law. Some women’s workshops in the Eastern Province refused to hire Syrian women to work in the cosmetics sector because they are afraid of committing violations.

Fatima Al-Saad said the number of Syrian women who applied for work in the cosmetics sector is much greater than the number of Saudi women.