Embassy issues 35‚000 travel documents
The Nepali Embassy in Riyadh, has issued 35,000 travel documents to illegal migrant workers since Saudi Arabia announced amnesty on April 5.
However, it is not easy for migrant workers to leave the country due to ignorance of exit procedures. Of the 400,000 Nepali migrant workers in the country, 70,000 are illegal due to various reasons: Either they are runaway workers, have changed profession or have entered the country on tourist visa.
The majority of Nepali migrant workers are illiterate, so they do not know about the exit process, said Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Udaya Raj Pandey. “We have established help desks in major cities and information bulletins to make them aware of the process,” he said. According to him, only a few women migrant workers have applied for travel documents because they have been confined within the four walls of the homes where they work. About 80,000 women are believed to be working in Saudi Arabia and 90 per cent of them are engaged as domestic helps. Kafala (sponsorship) system prevalent in Saudi Arabia bars outsiders from entering the house.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are two countries in the Gulf that issue exit visa to workers. Workers who have applied for amnesty also have to get exit visa from Saudi immigration after no objection letter from police. Police issue the letter after checking cases filed against migrant workers.
Kafala law also applies to diplomats of source countries, and that is why the embassy is facing difficulty reaching out to women migrant workers. More than 92 per cent women working in Saudi Arabia have entered the country via India, so they are undocumented in Nepal. Department of Foreign Employment has records of just 688 women migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
The embassy has issued notice to follow prescribed guidelines for leaving Saudi Arabia. We have informed illegal workers of the process. We are disseminating information through media, Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) Association and help desks in major cities.
Saudi Arabia announced the amnesty plan under Nitaqat (Saudiazation of labour market) to either become a legal worker or leave the country without any punishment. The oil-rich kingdom has warned that illegal foreign workers risk being slapped with prison sentences up to two years and fines up to 100,000 riyals ($27,000) after the three-month amnesty period runs out on July 3.
According to AFP, about 500,000 expats have so far corrected their status and about 180,000, mostly from South Asian countries, have left the country. However, about 1.5 million illegal workers are still waiting to leave the country.
Published on: 16 June 2013 | The Himalayan Times
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