ranking official of the Passports Department in Riyadh has dismissed reports that expatriate workers going on vacation are being given exit-only visas at the airport and that they cannot return to the Kingdom again under the recently introduced Nitaqat Saudization program. The Saudi Gazette office in Riyadh has been inundated with expatriate callers wanting to know if reports are true that the Passports Department is giving exit-only visas at the airport because their company is listed “Red” under Nitaqat, the Labor Ministry's recently introduced Saudization program. However, Lt. Badar Al-Malik, a Passports Department officer, categorically dismissed reports that expatriate workers with exit and re-entry visas were given final-exit visas under the Nitaqat program. Al-Malik told Saudi Gazette the Immigration Department has not introduced any new procedures following the introduction of Nitaqat and there was no issuing of exit-only visas taking place at the airports. “The Nitaqat program is not implemented yet and the Passports Department is not issuing final-exit visas to foreign workers who are working for companies listed as ‘Red' or ‘Yellow',” he said. Hathab Al-Anazy, Manager, Public Relations Department at the Labor Ministry, said private sector companies have been given a three-month grace period that ends on Shawwal 12, 1432 AH. “The Nitaqat program will be implemented only after the expiry of the grace period,” said Al-Anazy. Chebumkandy Abduljabbar, an Indian sales manager, said his company had sent him to Bahrain to attend a three-day business meeting with a valid exit and re-entry visa but records at the Immigration Department at Dammam-Bahrain King Fahd Causeway showed an exit-only visa, he said. “Upon my arrival at the Immigration Department at King Fahd Causeway, the officials informed me of my final exit visa status and said that I could not return to the Kingdom. I was shocked that I was sent on an exit-only visa because my family was in Riyadh and I had not claimed my 22-year end-of-service-benefit from the company I am working for,” he said. He said the Immigration Department officials allowed him to return and his company is now following up on the issue with the Passports Department. The Nitaqat program announced by the Labor Ministry is meant to create more jobs for Saudis in the private sector. Under the new policy, foreign workers employed by companies that have not achieved Saudization by recruiting a certain percentage of nationals were categorized as “Red”, “Yellow”, “Green” and “Excellent”. The official unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be at 10 percent. However, according to unofficial sources, the percentage of jobless Saudis is far greater than the official figures.
