In a move away from the sponsorship system for foreign workers, Saudi Arabia will start licensing expatriate labor companies within a month. “These labor companies will have licenses within a month and they will organize the process of bringing expatriates to the Kingdom,” said Deputy Labor Minister Mufarrej Al-Haqbani at the 7th Saudi Euromoney Conference here Tuesday. The new labor companies will replace an existing system in which companies sponsor the work visas of foreign employees. Haqbani also said the Kingdom was seeking to replace part of its foreign workforce with Saudi citizens. “In the short term, the focus is on increasing jobs for nationals ... by substituting a part of eight million expatriate jobs in the Kingdom,” he told the conference. In March this year, 13 Saudi recruitment companies were granted preliminary licenses by the Ministry of Labor to employ and provide foreign workers – including domestic workers and drivers - to local companies, citizens and expatriates. These companies will be the sponsors of workers. __
