Saudi Arabia mulls permanent residency for expatriates

April 6, 2016

Manama, Apr 6: Saudi Arabia could introduce a system for its millions of expatriates that would be similar to the Green Card system in the US.

expatriatesThe inclination, announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud in an interview with Bloomberg, would help the kingdom generate new revenues for the national economy.

No details were given by Prince Mohammad, but with around nine million foreigners living in the vast kingdom, making up one third of the total population, the system would be a source for the country as it seeks to implement an ambitious package of new reforms and measures that will considerably improve its non-oil revenues and “raise at least an extra $100 billion a year by 2020, more than tripling non-oil income and balancing the budget.”

“It's a large package of programmes that aims to restructure some revenue-generating sectors,” Prince Mohammad told Bloomberg.

The emulation of the American Green Card system would be alongside more steps to restructure subsidies and the imposition of a value-added tax and a levy on energy and sugary drinks as well as luxury items, the deputy crown prince reportedly said.

Most of the foreigners in Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirate – are Asians, mainly unskilled workers in the booming building and service sectors.

In his interview, Prince Mohammad expressed optimism the new measures would reinforce the government's drive to reduce reliance on oil and to boost non-oil revenues.

“We did a quick fix in 2015 which increased our non-oil revenue by 35 per cent,” he said. “This year, we are trying to target over $25 billion. I believe we will succeed in achieving more than $10 billion in non-oil revenue in 2016.”

With the dramatic slump of oil prices, the GCC countries have been looking at viable options to generate non-oil sources and reduce threats to fiscal stability and sustainability.

Experts believe that hydrocarbon exports represent more than 80 per cent of the total revenue in the GCC countries where taxation is almost absent.

The main non-oil revenue base in the GCC states currently includes customs duties and fees and charges.

Bahrain, the first GCC country to discover oil in 1932, has been leading the way in the diversification of non-oil resources.

Comments

Naren kotian
 - 
Thursday, 7 Apr 2016

Hahaha viren ..namge beda aa wahabi rashtra ..muzzies here in this column please note yelli yenne sigalvo ..yelli dance bars or disco theck ilvo ...antha rashtra kke banni makla full citizenship kodthivi andru ..beda milk shake mama neene itko beda andu bidteevi ...we are well aware soon saud family will collapse ...Isis is already making deep inroads into Saudi ...they have the weakest army in the world .this program will encourage Indo pakis who are in very large No's in India .no non Muslims will take PR for sure .as per IMF due to decline in oil revenues for the first time they are reeling into debt. Haha..soon it will create more problem as they don't have alternate non oil source ..milk shakes ge bere field nalli ashtu talent saha illa. ..

KhasaiKhaane
 - 
Thursday, 7 Apr 2016

Hahahahah... So Non-Muslims also want green card in Saudi? Check if you can avail one, but make sure you don't worship Camel Maatha,..!
There are other disadvantages though;
- No Riots
- No Photoshop
- No Love Jihad issue.
- No Moral policing
- No Lynching
- No Alchohol/Drugs
- No Pornography
- No Rapes
Are you sure you chaddis will be able to survive without all this?

DEAR VIREN
 - 
Thursday, 7 Apr 2016

Just study QURAN, YOU will understand Y u feel grudge against MUSLIMS...
Our CREATOR speaks about the CREATION & also he Warns us about Y grudge, Jealousy, Sin, hate, crime, DECEPTION & other Evils come from... and ROOT it comes from.
Animals live their way and Man was created by ALLAH with intelligence... Sometimes Use your intelligence to know what our CREATOR speaks... and dont live like the animals.

mohammad.n
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

Viren why do u need now muslim country green card?

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

Viren...say Bharat Mata ki jai n enjoy your stay here..why worried about green card

Owaisi
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

@ Viren Kotian 100% only for Muslims and should accept Saudi Arabia Islamic Rules with respect

Riyaz
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

Viren Kotiyaaan
Why are you intrested in the permanent residence of KSA. you should be happy in india with the chaddies ruling you. And by the way not everyone in the world is like you and your chadii rulers. there are people who look for the Human attributes in human beings not only religion . thats why there are many RSS chaddies who earn in saudi and send the money to their families in india.

mangalorean
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

I think for you spcially we will recommend govt to get red card to ban saudi arabia

Viren Kotian
 - 
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2016

Only for muslims or non muslims also will get green card?

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News Network
August 6,2020

Chennai, Aug 5: Karnataka on Wednesday crossed the 1.5 lakh mark in respect of COVID-19 cases and Kerala was on the verge of 30,000 while Andhra Pradesh witnessed a five- digit daily caseload after a lull. 

Tamil Nadu saw a small jump in its daily cases as compared to Tuesday while Telangana and union territory Puducherry reported their respective record single-day spikes. 

The five states and the union territory reported a combined 24,415 fresh confirmed coronavirus cases and 316 fatalities on Wednesday. 

A Puducherry Minister tested positive for the deadly virus while an opposition AINRC legislator who contracted the coronavirus earlier was discharged after being cured of it. 

In Karnataka, the coronavirus cases stood at 1,51,449 with the addition of 5,619 fresh cases while 100 deaths were reported, pushing the total fatalities to 2,804, the health department said.

According to a health bulletin, 74,679 persons have been discharged so far, leaving 73,958 active cases. Andhra Pradesh''s COVID-19 surge continued on Wednesday too, with 10,128 cases reported afresh after easing a little in the last four days. 

The overall tally rose to 1,86,461 on Wednesday. The state had last reported its five-figure daily tally on July 31 when it was 10,376. 

The state also saw a record number of 77 coronavirus deaths in a day, pushing the toll to 1,681, the latest bulletin said. 

In the last 24 hours, 8,729 patients had also recovered from the infection and there were 80,426 active cases. 

As many as 1,04,354 patients have been cured and discharged so far. Kerala was on the verge of 30,000 cases, as its tally stood at 29,145 with the addition of 1,195 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

The toll from the virus so far climbed to 94 with seven more deaths. Thiruvananthapuram continued to top the districts in infections with 274 cases on Wednesday, of whom 248 had been infected through contact. 

Malappuram (167), Kasaragod (128), Ernakulam (120) and Alappuzha (108) reported over 100 cases. As many as 112 patients died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, the highest reported in a single day so far, taking the toll to 4,461 on Wednesday while 5,175 more people tested positive, propelling the case count to 2.73 lakh.

Recoveries outnumbered fresh cases with 6,031 people getting discharged from various hospitals, taking the total cured to 2,14,815 as the active cases dropped to 54,184, a government bulletin said. 

In Telangana, 2,012 new cases emerged while 13 related fatalities were reported, taking the total infection tally in the state to 70,958. Out of the new cases, 532 were from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Medchal-Malkajgiri 198 and Rangareddy 188, a state government bulletin said on Wednesday, providing data as of 8 PM on August 4. 

The total number of people who recovered from the infectious disease touched 50,814, while 19,568 were under treatment.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in the state was 0.81 per cent, while it was 2.10 per cent at the national level, it said. The recovery rate was 71.6 per cent in the state, while it was 66.31 per cent in the country, it added. 

Puducherry clocked its worst single-day spike of 286 infections, recording seven deaths, even as the overall tally of cases went up to 4,432. 

The deaths during the 24 hours in the Union Territory took the toll to 65 so far since the outbreak of the virus, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao told a virtual press conference. 

His cabinet colleague M Kandasamy and his son reported positive for the virus and were admitted to JIPMER.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Dubai, Mar 3: Abu Dhabi-based Indian retail tycoon MA Yusuff Ali has become the first Indian to receive Saudi Arabia's premium residency, his office said in a statement on Monday.

Yusuff Ali, 64, is the chairman of the LuLu Group, who was ranked the richest expat in the UAE by the Forbes magazine last year.

The permit, informally known as Saudi Green Card, grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor, the LULU group said in a statement.

The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy, the statement said.

Yusuff Ali said "obviously a very proud and humbling moment in my life. This is a great honour not only for me but for the entire Indian expat community and I sincerely thank the HM the King Salman, HRH Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and the government of Saudi Arabia."

"@Yusuffali_MA , an investor from India, after obtaining Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia: ''The Kingdom became an attractive investment destination due to the remarkable growth in economy," Premium Residency tweeted on Monday.

Yusuff Ali said he was sure that this new permanent residency initiative will further boost Saudi Arabia's image as one of the key investments and business hubs of the region as well as attract and retain new investors.

This initiative is targeting key investors and prominent personalities from various fields, including sports, arts & culture, who have played a defining role in the nation building process.

The Lulu Group owns and operates more than 35 hypermarkets and supermarkets in Saudi Arabia, which includes ARAMCO Commissaries and National Guards super stores.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Mangaluru Mar 30: The Mangaluru South Police has registered a criminal case against a man over a 'derogatory post' against the district administration. According to DC Sindhu B Rupesh, the man identified as Melwyn Pinto had sent a derogatory message on WhatsApp.

She warned on taking stringent action against miscreants who are spreading false information and rumours about district administration under DM Act provisions.

Meanwhile, City Commissioner of Police Dr P S Harsha said, "We have noticed people going around on merry rides without purpose either on two-wheelers or in cars during the lockdown period."

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