Illegal workers in Saudi Arabia rush to sign up for amnesty

Illegal foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, mostly Asians, are in a race against time to take advantage of an amnesty ending tomorrow that will allow them to stay or return home without prosecution.

King Abdullah announced the amnesty on April 3, granting foreign workers three months to regularise their residency or leave the oil-rich Gulf monarchy to avoid being blacklisted or jailed and fined.

More than 1.5 million illegal foreign workers came forward during the first two months of the amnesty, the labour ministry said. It did not say how many illegal foreign workers are still in the kingdom, but the number is reported to be about two million.

Of these, 180,000 have left, in addition to more than 200,000 unregistered workers expelled at the start of the year under new regulations to stamp out illegal immigration.

Many workers were queueing outside their embassies to obtain documents to either leave Saudi Arabia or legalise their status before tomorrow's deadline.

As in most Gulf states, foreigners in Saudi Arabia need to be sponsored by a local business to obtain entry and work permits.

Foreigners desperate to work in the country are willing to pay for sponsorship, and sponsoring expatriates has become a lucrative business for some Saudis.