17,500 Pinoys to benefit from Saudi amnesty extension

Tags: Saudi Arabia

Up to 17,500 undocumented Filipino workers stand to benefit in Saudi Arabia if they will correct their status before November 3, the new deadline of the amnesty period for undocumented workers in the kingdom, a ranking Philippine official there said.

In a report of the Arab News site, Philippine Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay said, "It’s a relief for Filipino expatriates, we have 11,500 OFWs who want to correct their status, while another 6,000 wish to return home."

The Saudi government extended the grace period from July 3 to November 3.

"In the first phase of the grace period, a majority of them couldn’t complete formalities in the passport offices," Garibay said.

Garibay said they hope Saudi authorities can make the processing of documents of expatriates faster.
 
"We hope there will be some changes to quicken the procedures, and we will also see how we (Philippine officials) can be of better service,” he said.

“Undocumented Filipinos are advised to take advantage of this extension and immediately proceed to the concerned Saudi government agencies or seek the assistance of our embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia for their repatriation or the regularization of their status,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Vice President Jejomar Binay, also the presidential adviser for OFW concerns, appealed to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia to use the extension granted by the Saudi Arabian government to submit the requirements for them to legalize their stay or leave the Kingdom without penalties.

"The Philippine Embassy has been working hard to facilitate the processing of the documents required by the Saudi authorities. The extension will allow us more time to process the documents to legalize the stay of our overseas Filipino workers or process the repatriation of those who wish to come home," he said.
 
Saudi Arabia has given foreign workers another four months to obtain legal status in the country a day before a previous three-month amnesty expired, bringing respite to hundreds of thousands of expatriates who fear deportation.
 
Foreigners who do a different job to the one listed on their residence permit, will now have until the end of the Islamic year on Nov. 3 to resolve their status, Saudi official media reported on Tuesday citing an Interior Ministry statement.
 
Expatriates account for around a third of the population in the world's top oil exporter and for decades the authorities have turned a blind eye to visa irregularities to give Saudi companies a ready stream of cheap imported labor.

The crackdown against illegal workers, which led to thousands of arrests and deportations, started on March 28 because of the “Saudization” policy, which encourages the employment of Saudi nationals in private firms.
 
Saudi King Abdullah first ordered a three-month delay to the arrests of illegal migrant workers last April 6.
 
A four-month extension was again approved by the Saudi King following appeals from the Philippines and other countries with undocumented workers in Saudi Arabia - home to more than one million Filipinos.
 
The previous crackdown forced hundreds of illegal Filipino workers to set up camps outside the premises of the country’s consulate in Jeddah and the embassy in Riyadh, hoping their presence near a diplomatic mission would give them protection and prevent their arrest. - VVP, GMA News

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