PH to keep repatriating OFWs in Saudi Arabia
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assured Filipinos in Saudi Arabia that it will continue to provide assistance to those who want to be repatriated and to legalize their statuses there.
Raul Hernandez, Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said the Philippine government will be working to assist Filipino illegal workers in the oil-rich kingdom despite the end of the grace period.
“We will continue assisting undocumented Filipinos who would like to go back home. New rules and procedures of the Saudi government which were announced recently will have to be followed,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Saudi government announced a new set of guidelines that would govern its crackdown against illegally staying for- eign workers in the kingdom.
Under the guidelines, any violators of the immigration policy will be detained, arrested and jailed. They will then be deported, and will not be able to enter the country again.
The new guidelines also said employers of erring workers will have to pay fees and might face sanctions as
well. It urged recruitment agencies and individual employees to inform their workers of the new rules.
Hernandez, for his part, said that the oil-rich kingdom “will continue processing application for exit visa and for legalization of status with procedures before the grace period.”
The grace period, which was extended from July 3, officially lapsed on November 3. It signaled the start of the implementation of the Saudization policy, which aims to prioritize the economic opportunities of Saudi nationals.
The policy won’t affect workers who have legal and regular status in the kingdom, although the kingdom has committed to help companies who will prioritize the employment of Saudi nationals.
A computation for the recruitment of expat workers and Saudi citizens was provided to the companies by the oil-rich kingdom.
Hernandez, however, reminded Filipinos who will apply for the repatriation program and the correction of their statuses that the process will be considerably longer compared to the grace period.