The Makkah Passports Department has denied encouraging pilgrims who have overstayed the permitted time of their visas to take refuge under the Sitteen Bridge in Jeddah as they await deportation. “No one is encouraging this,” said spokesman Muhammad Hussein. “The problem has been building up for the last five years.” Hussein said that the issue began when some African Haj pilgrims wishing to return home took to gathering at the Passports Department until they were deported. The situation escalated as they were later joined by pilgrims from Indonesia and the Philippines. “The problem is still with us, and the Passports Department is trying to find proper solutions to it,” he said. According to Hussein, Passports Department officials round up overstayers at sites such as the Sitteen Bridge and enter them into the fingerprinting system for identification purposes. “It sometimes transpires that some of them have fled their sponsors, while others may be wanted for criminal offenses,” he said. “Embassies are informed of those who are genuine pilgrim overstayers so that official procedures may advance.”
