Undocumented OFWs in Saudi given 2-month grace period

MANILA, Philippines – Undocumented migrant workers in Saudi Arabia whose papers are already being processed have been given a two-month grace period by the Ministry of the Interior to correct their status.

“Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Naif has ordered the department to complete correction procedures of expatriates whose papers were being processed by the Labor Ministry during the amnesty, before March 1,” Maj. Gen. Suleiman Al-Yahya, director general of the Passport Department, was quoted as saying by the Arab News website in an article Friday.

The Saudi government previously gave a seven-month amnesty period for foreign workers to correct their legal status or else face arrest with penalty of two years in jail and fine of up to 100,000 Saudi Riyal.

The amnesty ended November 3, 2013.

The number of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia was estimated at 1,267,660 since 2012, according to records of the Commission on Overseas Filipinos.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia was estimated to be at 660,000 but the undocumented OFWs cannot be determined, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Albert Del Rosario said in a previous statement.

Travel documents have already been issued to some 10,000 to 11,000 OFWs while 5,000 have already been repatriated since November 2013, the DFA said.

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