Mitib Al-Owad

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

HAIL — Expatriates working for sponsors or in job positions other than those registered with the Ministry of Labor will be deported at the expense of their illegal sponsors, according to sources.



Expatriates working as freelancers will themselves bear the cost of their deportation.



Illegal expatriates will be banned from entering the Kingdom for a year, the sources said. If the violation is repeated, the entry ban will be valid for two years. For a third violation, the period of ban will be extended to three years.



If legal sponsors fail to report expatriates’ illegal conduct, the sponsors will be fined SR5,000 for the first dereliction, SR10,000 for the second and SR15,000 for the third in addition to a month in prison.



“Any citizen who employs illegal expatriates will be fined SR5,000 in addition to a month in prison for the first violation, SR20,000 with two months in prison for the second and SR50,000 with three months in prison for the third,” said the sources.



The penalties apply for each worker, so an employer could potentially go to jail for at least four months and be fined SR20,000 for employing four illegal expats.



Senior officials of the Ministry of Labor on Monday sought cooperation from citizens and expatriates to help nab violators of residency and labor laws and make the upcoming security campaign a big success.