The two-month deferment of inspections is likely to bring some relief to expatriates. Announced on Thursday in Al Riyadh province for expatriates engaged in works other than those mentioned in their visas as part of Saudisation move Nitaqat, the plan is expected to give enough time and opportunity to expatriates including Indians facing deportation to leave that country safely.
As per the announcement by Riyadh Governor Amir Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Abdul Aziz, the inspections being held to find expatriates doing works other than those mentioned in their visas would now resume only on June 9.
However, the relaxation would not be applicable in the case of expatriates residing in the province illegally and those who were engaged in benami businesses under licences taken in the names of Saudi nationals. The decision of the Riyadh Governorate had reportedly been sent to the concerned departments of the Saudi Government.
The Riyadh Governorate’s announcement would not be applicable also in the case of expatriates who are working there without sponsors. As per reports from Riyadh, the Governorate’s decision for search deferment followed complaints from Saudi companies about shortage of workers to complete contracted Government jobs.
The decision for deferment of the inspection was taken in Riyadh Governorate as it was up to the provincial authorities to devise the plan for searches under the Nitaqat programme. The Governorate would now constitute a special team for the Saudisation inspections in the province. A committee has reportedly been constituted for this.
Tens of thousands of Keralites working in Saudi Arabia were facing the prospect of leaving that country due to the Nitaqat programme intended at ensuring a minimum of 10 per cent participation of nationals in the employment scene. Inspections for illegal residents had started after the time given for companies to comply with the programme ended on March 27.
Kerala-based organisations working for the welfare of non-resident Keralites in the Arabian Gulf said that the relaxation would be helpful to those who were apprehending arrest or removal to deportation centres. The search holiday would give such NRIs the opportunity to leave the Arabian kingdom for India.
“The move thus is a big relief to Indians in Riyadh. It has come just when many Keralites had gone into hiding fearing searches by the Jawasat Police (passport cops). It is also a welcome step as it has come when the Kerala Government was appealing for a six-month amnesty period for those who could face the Nitaqat axe,” said Shajahan A, a Keralite working in Jeddah.
“The decision is helpful to expatriates including Keralites in Riyadh who are engaged in professions other than those marked in their visas,” said Muhammad Usman, a Gulf returnee in Kozhikode. “If Medina, Eastern and Mecca provinces where Keralites are in large numbers follow Riyadh’s example, it would be a bigger relief to them,” he said.