Manama: Saudi Arabia will soon put a six-year cap on the residency of foreigners in the country, the labour minister has said.
The decision will be part of ten programmes the Saudi government is planning to implement in order to regulate the local labour market, Adel Al Faqih said, Saudi daily Al Watan reported on Monday.
Companies will be given five months after the implementation of the labour reforms programme to regularise their situation, the minister said.
The reforms will aim at boosting employment opportunities for Saudis and increasing their competitive edge.
According to the minister, the reforms will help tackle the black market for employment visas to the rate of 99 per cent.
Al Faqih said that the ministry would go ahead with the programme and that there would be no leniency in its application.
Earlier attempts by the Gulf Cooperation Council labour ministers to impose a cap on the residence of unskilled labourers, mainly from Asia, were foiled by the powerful business communities in the six member countries.
According to the latest figures, there are eight million expatriates living in Saudi Arabia, with six million of them working in the private sector.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-ara … erm&193803
Saudi Arabia plans six-year cap on expat visas
Also i heared that they will give a permenant residence for those people were and still living for more than 10 years here.
Lets wait and see...I suspect any permanent residence will have lots of conditions and therefore not attractive to many expats.
Also there are rumours you will have to surrender your current nationality and citizenship. (no duel passports)...cant imagine many people considering that!
Saudization is currently gaining momentum ...its time for expats to consider other options.
This is interesting... As I am just moving to Saudi...I guess this is something to keep in the back of my mind
cld be a blessing in disguise to all of those who r here only due to some things which forced them and can get more good job back home and only cant go back due to many issues related to the sponsiorship system. 
Free birds now today if this is implemented strictly.
This rule is for the companies who are in yellow or red category,
The companies in green category still be able to renew iqama for the expacts.
Cheers!
What does it mean by yellow, red and green categories?
yellow, red and green??? oooh signal post making companies??
waleed40 wrote:Also i heared that they will give a permenant residence for those people were and still living for more than 10 years here.
That will be a relief!!
that will surely be a relief saqib but i doubt on that... i really feel bad looking at those people who are here for more than their life they spent in their homeland and at the end, they have no other option than to get back home and find themselves completely out of everything there... everything is new to them and they cant adapt the present situation as they didnt know there was a drastic change while they were away... in this process, i have seen NONE of the saudi returned people settled. its pity
the government, if not giving out nationality, shall atleast give some security in giving out permanent residency to people who have spent more than 30 years serving their country...
shahab.ali wrote:the government, if not giving out nationality, shall atleast give some security in giving out permanent residency to people who have spent more than 30 years serving their country...
i agree. KSA is our home too .
SaQiB wrote:shahab.ali wrote:the government, if not giving out nationality, shall atleast give some security in giving out permanent residency to people who have spent more than 30 years serving their country...
i agree. KSA is our home too .
u think that... the government doesnt
The rule is from WTO to give the Permenant residence for those people living more than 10 years because human rihgts condiders these people as (immigrant), However, they may not renew iqama for just those positions which the Saudi man can work in same field.
waleed40 wrote:The rule is from WTO to give the Permenant residence for those people living more than 10 years because human rihgts condiders these people as (immigrant), However, they may not renew iqama for just those positions which the Saudi man can work in same field.
IF the case is the Saudi man does really match the "work" done too!
No body explained, ok I am doing.
According to the journalist, all that the minister focused on was his ministry's "Nitaqat" program, which is expected to be applied in two weeks. Under this program, private companies and establishments will be classified across three colors — green, yellow and red — according to the number of Saudis they employ.
by ArabNews
I am not sure if its applied on Establishment, I mean Single owner running small bussiness,
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article445172.ece
Companies will surely evolve ways and means to beat the cap. How do you run a country without the right men and women in the right roles for the available remuneration?
i think they should play cities xl 2011 to understand how to rule
Saudi Arabia and the Arab world as such is in a state of change currently, so we hear about a lot of these initiatives whihc may be passed by the council and things that are under discussion and stuff.. Lets not panic. when things come down to that, we adapt. just like always.
No doubt about that RG. People will move on to whatever is best for them wherever they may choose to based on their situations and needs.
The irony of it all is that the administration is fully aware that their own people are still not in a position to manage the businesses and projects within the Kingdom and it will be a very long time before they may reach that state.
Local private businesses are not going to shut down and sleep when its their only means of livelihood by opting to make losses using local resources who are incapable of delivering the goods.
Basically, its a No-Win situation for the nation. They dont have a choice!
why report and who ?
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