Grace period for overstaying workers:

14,000 Lankans to return or regularise stay in Saudi

by Ananda Agalakada

Nearly 14,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers who had overstayed their visas in Saudi Arabia have consented to either come back or regularise their stay before a grace period announced by the Saudi government expires on July 3. Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry has offered foreigners staying illegally in the country a three-month grace period to legalise their stay.

Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) spokesman Mangala Randeniya said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Saudi was working round-the-clock to assist Lankan workers.

He said additional manpower has been deployed and a mobile assistance service has also been launched in outstation areas. Randeniya said officials were also advising workers who have overstayed to regularise their stay with their current employers if they wish to remain in Saudi. Saudi’s Labour Ministry has said that all illegal workers wishing to correct their status and stay for work in the Kingdom are exempt from penalties and fines associated with their violations that occurred before. According to Randeniya, nearly 1,000 workers who were staying illegally in Saudi have already returned home.

Randeniya said the Sri Lankan Embassy issues temporary passports to workers who need them and then workers have to contact the Immigration Police of Saudi to obtain exit permits. To obtain exit permits, the workers have to produce the Iqama (workers ID card), a copy of the visa page or entry number. If workers cannot find the above, they are advised to contact the SLBFE with the help of a local relative; and the SLBFE will assist them by contacting the foreign employment agency which recruited them.

However, if any Lankan worker has serious criminal records pending against him or her in Saudi Arabia, the Immigration Police will not grant exit permits to them. Saudi officials have announced that there will be no extension of the grace period and there will be a zero-tolerance policy for those who fail to regularise their status. They may be prosecuted and could face a two year jail term and a fine of Saudi Riyal 100,000.