30,000 Egyptians encouraged to leave Saudi

Some 30,000 Egyptians who have overstaying their visas in Saudi Arabia have been encouraged to “swiftly” leave the kingdom during the 90-day amnesty that exempts them from punitive measures.
The pardon, which was issued on 20 March 2017 and comes into effect tomorrow, exempts those who are in  the country illegally from deportation, a ten-year ban from entering Saudi and taking away financial, educational and work privileges if they leave the country during the amnesty.
Al-Ahram reported the Egyptian Labour Minister, Mohamed Saafan, asking the labour ministry representatives in Riyadh and Jeddah to speak to the pardoned Egyptians in the kingdom and brief them on how to benefit from this measure.
The Egyptian ministry said the pardon included Egyptians “whose residence visas were not renewed, who were reported absent from



work, who received permission to work but not a residence visa, who performed pilgrimage without permission and who illegally entered the kingdom.”
Meanwhile, the minister said that those who voluntarily leave the kingdom would be able to legally return to it in the future, noting that they would be unable to legalise their statuses without leaving the country.
Last week, Saudi launched the “A Nation Without Violations” campaign in an effort to target those who are staying in the country illegally.
The Saudi Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Mohamed Ben Nayef said the campaign was permitted by the King Salman as it aimed to let violators in the kingdom to legalise their statuses.
Ben Nayef called on the violators to seize the opportunity, starting from Wednesday, March 29, 2017 and lasts for 90 days.