Crowding and confusion in front of consulates in Jeddah on Monday due to the huge rush of illegal expatriate workers who want to benefit from the grace period. – Okaz photo by Riyadh Al-Ghamdi Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Confusion, miscommunication and procedural bottlenecks have led to panic among many undocumented workers as the grace period to rectify their status nears end. Many workers told Saudi Gazette that they had been running from pillar to post to rectify their status but nothing has been done so far. Some of the workers said that the Passport Department refused to accept their papers because “it had not received any official guidelines so far.” A Somali national said that he wants to add his wife and children to his iqama and renew it. He has also found a new sponsor. He said he had been doing the rounds of the Jeddah Passport Department, but without any luck. Waleed, a Palestinian national, wants to correct the residency status of his mother. He has not received any answer despite many trips to the Jeddah Passport Department. However, Spokesman of the Directorate General for Passports Col. Badr Al-Malik denied that they have not yet started work on rectifying the status of expatriates. Speaking to Saudi Gazette he said that there are two categories of sponsorship: The workers under the sponsorship of companies need to consult labor offices, and those under individual sponsorship (like housemaids, drivers, cooks etc.) should contact the Passport Department. An expatriate under an individual's sponsorship has three options: either to leave the country, go back to their sponsor or transfer their sponsorship to another sponsor. Regarding those who have been living in the Kingdom for years without valid iqamas and have lost contact with their sponsors, Al-Malik said that they have to contact the Passport Department to correct their status. Those who do not have valid passports should contact their embassies or consulates for new passports. Spokesman of the Jeddah Passport Department Muhammad Al-Hassan said that the workers on individual sponsorship who have huroob (runaway) reports pending against them must first clear their names at the Passport Department. To get their status rectified individual sponsorship workers like housemaids, drivers and cooks should first cancel any runaway case against them at the passport department, provide their original passport, a copy of the passport, a copy of work contract, and a copy of the sponsor's ID. Al-Hassan said that the Jeddah passport office serving the cases relating to status correction has been shifted to Abruq Al-Raghama. Meanwhile, people presenting themselves as agents and middlemen are doing the rounds of the missions and labor and passport offices looking for desperate expat workers. They claim to get the status correction work done for a fee raging between SR10,000 and SR25,000. Then there some Saudis who are fishing in the troubled waters for domestic helpers. They find it easier to strike deals with workers instead of waiting for long periods to hire a worker through recruitment offices. A Saudi woman has been struggling for a month now to hire a housemaid. She first contacted the recruitment office but was asked to wait for at least three months. “I then decided to go to the Philippine consulate to find a housemaid. I struck a deal with a maid there. I agreed to transfer her sponsorship and give her all the benefits she asks for,” said the woman.
