Around 9 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia have been told to get their papers in order or face deportation.
After spending decades ignoring expats flouting visa and employment laws, the government has decided to clear out anyone breaching the rules.
Under pressure from the Arab Spring uprisings and from a new echelon of university men and women pushing for employment and more rights, the government is acting to preserve the status quo by making room for locals to get jobs by sending expats home.
Businesses and households have reaped the benefits of cheap labour for years, but the new reformations will see them having to pay decent wages by law to staff with visas and permits to work.
Although Western expats working in some sectors may be hit, the crackdown is targeted more at lower paid workers rather than highly-qualified and skilled consultants.
Fear of political unrest
The economies of many countries, like Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines, all rely on foreign currency remitted from Saudi Arabia.
But with 12% of all working age Saudi Arabians out of work, the government wants to avoid political uprisings like those seen in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
The figure is believed to be a huge under estimate of the real number of jobless, because many come from wealthy families and do not register as seeking work.
In Saudi Arabia, like many other Gulf States, the government is the largest employer of state nationals.
Efforts to create jobs in the private sector have seen expats take the opportunity to start their own firms – for instance most car repair firms are owned and staffed by expats.
Recently, Saudi Arabia has introduced strict quotas on employing expats. Firms who break the rules face stiff fines and may even be closed down.
Firms face a tax of around £400 a year for each expat in a post that should be taken by a Saudi.
5 million expats visit police
The government has already started rounding up and deporting expats who work for different employers than the one listed on their visa.
An amnesty was called as firms found they were denuded of workers by the action – but now the government has come back fighting hard with a show of determination.
Expats who do not have the correct visas and employment documents are urged to go to the Saudi police. During a seven month grace period ending on November 4, expats could have their papers put in order by the authorities.
The government has warned from November 4, companies can expect unannounced raids from inspection teams, while expats will face stop-and-search on the streets to check their papers are in order.
More than 5 million expats have had their papers revised by police during the amnesty, while hundreds of thousands of ‘illegals’ have allegedly fled the country.
