Saudi Arabia: 34,834 expats face action and 9,454 sent home in one week of iqama and labour checks

Saudi Arabia's security campaign found 13,822 violations of residency, border and labour rules in the week from 8 to 14 October, and 34,834 expatriates are going through legal procedures, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Saturday, in figures carried by the Saudi Press Agency and reported by ARY News.

For Pakistani families with someone working in the Kingdom, these weekly checks matter: an expired iqama or a job with the wrong sponsor can end in deportation.

The week's figures

The ministry did not break the figures down by nationality.

The penalty for helping a violator

Anyone who helps a person enter illegally, transports them inside the Kingdom or gives them shelter or work faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 1 million, about Rs 73.8 million at the riyal rate of Rs 73.84, and the house or vehicle used can be seized. Violations can be reported on 911 in Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province and on 999 or 996 elsewhere.

What Pakistani workers should check

1. Iqama validity: make sure it is renewed before it expires.
2. Work for your sponsor only: working for another employer without a transfer counts as a labour violation.
3. Hajj and Umrah visas are not work visas: overstaying them is a residency violation.
4. Lost or confiscated passport: contact the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate in Jeddah for emergency travel documents.

Sending money home? Compare what your riyals buy with our currency converter.