Over 900,000 undocumented expatriate workers, most of them from South Asia, have been deported from the Kingdom in the last seven months when the amnesty was operational, with more than 178,000 such expat workers being sent home in the last 40 days since the correction period came to an end on Nov. 3.

The General Passports Department completed deportation formalities of 178,000 undocumented expat workers since the crackdown against illegal worker began on Nov. 4.

The department said work was on to complete all the deportation procedures for those who were arrested during the campaign, as per the directives of the Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad Bin Naif. Col. Suleiman Al-Yahya, Director General of the Passport Department, said they had put into action all the resources available to quickly complete deportation procedures in coordination with the embassies of individuals found violating labor laws.

He asserted that the campaign against violators of residency and work regulations was ongoing and not restricted to a specific time period.

Authorities confirmed that the job status of over 4.7 million expat workers had been rectified during the period, and the process was on to its second phase. As per directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the Council of Ministers, efforts to weed out violators will continue with all seriousness without any exceptions.

Hatem Qadi, Deputy Minister of Haj and Haj Affairs, said the number of people who failed to leave the Kingdom after completing Haj was around 9,000. Some of them were undergoing treatment in Saudi hospitals following illnesses, while the others were facing criminal charges, he said.

It may be mentioned here that corrective campaign targets those who are working without a sponsor, or those who came on Haj or Umrah visa and had not left the country. All measures are being taken to ensure that violators are punished and deported as per the directives. The campaign also targets Saudis who allow workers to work on their own or give shelter to violators.

Director of Public and Media Relations in the Police Directorate of the Makkah region Col. Badr bin Saud said the number of deportees of Ethiopian and Indonesian nationalities at the Public Service House in Al-Shammassi since the beginning of the inspection campaign was 106,120 including men, women and children.

He said the number of Ethiopians who were fingerprinted was 59,392, of whom 50,956 had already been deported, while the number of Indonesians who had been fingerprinted was 13,418, of whom 9,562 were deported.

He said the deportation was through King Abdulaziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port and the number of expats deported was increasing on a daily basis.

The Public Services House provides free daily subsistence to offenders, all of whom are provided with three meals a day, besides snacks and beverages in the reception and departure halls. Bus transport within the service center as well as laundry is also free of charge.