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Filipino illegals face hard time in Saudi

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Undocumented migrants in Saudi Arabia may soon find it difficult to connect with their families in the Philippines following the implementation of Saudi’s new SIM card registration policy.

According to the Filipino migrants rights group Migrante-Middle East, Saudi’s Communication and Information Technology Commission will implement a new regulation requiring phone users to input their national identification number (Iqama) immediately after entering their prepaid card number to load-up or transfer balances.

Saudi telecommunication companies said last week failure to do this would cause disconnection of SIM card services.

Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said thousands of undocumented migrants who do not have updated identification numbers will be affected by the policy.

“It is a common knowledge that there are thousands of undocumented migrants, including Filipinos, in Saudi Arabia,” he said. Obviously, the Iqama or identification card of an undocumented is expired, so he or she will not be able to update or register to continue using a SIM card or to get a new one, Monterona added.


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Tags: Foreign affairs , Global Nation , Middle East & Africa , Migration , Philippines , Saudi Arabia , SIM Card Registration Policy

  • Hunter421

    Perhaps they should have left the country before their documents expired.

  • koolit

    Wifi and/or the internet will be their best friend…VOIP is the way to go.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EDXEVEFHW2ZT5VWHDWBNM6XGE4 RyanE

      Yes, bud sadly coverage of internet or wifi is not that widespread in the provinces yet.

  • vinzerx

    So, should we be concerned? These are ILLEGALS we are talking about.

  • Gastig

    Hay mahirap talaga pumasok sa mga iligal na bagay…..kung di ka mayaman o makapangyarihan….

  • dickenhead

    TNT sa Saudi? ganyan na ba kadesperado mga pinoys?

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/J7JJVACI2MNGSN4NDVNRFI2E3M Jusko Day!

      Though hindi ako TNT, ang masasabi ko sa iyo ay isang malaking ‘SHONGA’ ! Saudi Arabia ang isa sa may magagandang economy ngayon sa mundo, almost unscathed ng global financial crisis,being the number one oil producer in the world! Tax free, mura ang bilihin at tahimik ang buhay dito, almost zero ang crime rate! Mas delikado pa dyan sa Pinas na any time pwede kang ma-hold up at mapatay! Kung may maganda kang trabaho dito, napakasarap ng buhay dito! Mas desperado siguro yung mag TNT sa Europe o sa Amerika na may mga financial crises! Word of advice – hindi lahat ng nababasang negative news sa Saudi Arabia ay totoo! Mas marami ang exaggerated and blown out of proportion! At kung hindi rin naman nakakarating at nakapamuhay dito sa Saudi, tigilan ang pagdadakdak nang walang katuturan! Magmumukha ka lang tanga dahil obvious na wala kang kaalam-alam! Mahigit isang dekada na ako dito at bading pa pero never akong nagkaproblema! Gumanda ang buhay ko at ng pamilya ko, nakapundar ng isang house and lot sa isang (take note) upper middle class na village sa Laguna at may mga investment sa Phil. stock market! Eh ikaw, kamusta naman? Maganda ba buhay mo?  Baka ikaw ang desperado!

      • dickenhead

        bading ka pala kaya gusto mo dyan dahil malalaki ang sa mga arabo. well ingat lang at huwag kang magladlad dahil pinuputlan nila ng ulo ang mga shokla na katulad mo

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/J7JJVACI2MNGSN4NDVNRFI2E3M Jusko Day!

        At ikaw magtrabaho ka nang makatulong ka sa ekonomiya ng bansa! Comment nang comment , BOBO naman! At malaking KATANGAHAN mo ulit – wala pang naputulan dito ng ulo dahil sa kabadingan! Na-deport, pwede pa! TANGA!

      • dickenhead

        yung ulo mos sa sa baba, bobong bakla

      • bugoybanggers

        Magtrabaho ka ng maayos naman, pero dapat huwag kayong mamaHIYA sa mga PILIPINO. Kaya nga maraming nagagahasang PILIPINO dahil akala ng mga ARABO tulad lahat sa inyo. Kawawa naman, sira na naman ang puwet.

      • bugoybanggers

        Bading hahahhahaha! Kaya naman pala. Masaya diyan, langit sa inyo nga naman ang SAUDI dapat lahat ng mga BADING sa Pilipinas isama na ninyo diyan.

  • GaggedOrdered

    This is very old news.  Everyone and everything is connected to two things:  the Iqama AND the SIM.  You need one to register the other.  You need both to renew almost everything there.  No Iqama, no SIM, plain and simple.  I have seen illegals here and there and they are scared of their proverbial shadows because, they are after all, illegally staying. 

  • bugoybanggers

    Kung ganito sa PILIPINAS siguro masisira ang ulo ng mga mahilig magpalit palit ng SIM para makapanloko ng kapwa. Kontra kasi dito ang mga PILIPINO kasi mahilig talaga sa mga kalokohan, tsaka ang dinadahilan   DEMOKRASYA na naman.

  • Diepor

    We should have registered sim also here. It would be a good tool for the police.

  • Pinoy_Reich

    TNT sa Saudi: Titi Ng Titi sa Saudi.



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