Nawaf Afet Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Passport authorities in Saudi Arabia have advised all Yemeni nationals residing in the country illegally and have not yet benefited from the amnesty announced by the Saudi government to rectify their status before the July 7 deadline. More than 280,500 illegal Yemeni residents received their visitor's card by Thursday noon, the Passport Directorate (Jawazat) said. Col. Mohammad Saad, head of media relations at Jawazat, warned that after the amnesty ends on July 7, the authorities would run intensive campaigns to arrest all Yemenis still residing in the country illegally. “After the amnesty period, we will run inspection campaigns and anyone caught residing in the country illegally will be penalized,” Saad said. “The Passport Directorate has facilitated all the procedures for obtaining the visitor's card so there is no excuse for any Yemeni national to stay illegally in the Kingdom after the deadline,” he added. The Passport Directorate has opened status correction facilities in all areas of the Kingdom to make them reachable to all Yemenis living in the country. “Every aspect of the operation is communicated and coordinated with the headquarters in Riyadh. The centers are open during the day and at night. Some centers stayed open until 2 a.m.,” said Saad. He said the visitor's card will permit Yemenis to register for Ojeer. Ojeer is a portal set up by the Ministry of Labor enabling expatriates and employers to search for one another and share databases. "With the visitors' card, Yemenis will be able to work legally in the Kingdom. Any Yemeni living illegally in the country after July 7 deadline will face serious consequences,” said Saad.
