RIYADH: The Kingdom’s “A Nation without Violations” campaign has gained ground, with authorities having arrested a total of 69,233 violators of work and residency laws, as well as border infiltrators.
The campaign was launched by the Ministry of Interior on March 29, 2017 to give residency, labor law violators and infiltrators the chance to leave the Kingdom without having to pay penalties.
The number of those who violated the residency laws totaled 38,006; there were border security infiltrators, 13,099; 970infiltration attempts; and 17,158 labor law violators.
The campaign has earned praise from various sectors, including human rights and justice organizations, which have expressed their support.
Six days into the implementation of the program earlier this year, authorities had arrested 36,656 violators in various provinces of the Kingdom.
The amnesty is applicable only to expatriates considered as illegal workers such as those who overstayed their Hajj and Umrah visits, and those who transported pilgrims without permits.
It also include expats who illegally entered the Kingdom’s borders, those ran away from their companies or sponsors, and those with expired visas.
The General Directorate of Passports has reached out to violating expats in Urdu, English, Indonesian, Arabic and other languages to inform them in daily tweets about how they can take advantage of the campaign.
The Labor Ministry, in coordination with public security, held a meeting with recruitment companies in the Saudi market to discuss their roles in the campaign.
“The campaign is a continuation of the efforts of the bodies involved in the comprehensive national campaign to track down those who violate the regulations of residency, work and border security,” said Fawaz Al-Maiman, Riyadh police spokesman.
He noted the arrest in the past 24 hours “of 1,091 dissidents and other illegal foreigners in the city of Riyadh, and 814 in the provinces with the participation of the security patrols department.”
He said that joint field efforts also found 123 violations, and 24 establishments were closed for violating the regulations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
Moreover, 182 prohibited pesticide containers, 54 expired pesticide containers, and 121 spoiled pesticide containers were also confiscated due to violations of Ministry of Agriculture regulations.
He said that all violators were handed over to the police in preparation for their referral to the appropriate authorities.
