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
July 20,2020

Udupi, July 20: A youth, who was under depression after his business came to a halt due to lockdown, has killed self in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district. 

The deceased has been identified as Nitish Shetty (31), son of Prabhakar Shetty, a resident of Giliyaru in Kota area of Kundapura. 

Shetty was running a secondhand car business in Bengaluru. The business had completely stopped due to covid-19 lockdown. 

After returning to his hometown, he could not find any other job. Hence he was under depression. Hence on July 18 he handed himself to death in his house, police said. 

A case has been registered at jurisdictional Kota police station.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 3: Four central crime branch (CCB) police personnel tested positive for coronavirus on Friday in Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka.

So far, eighteen police personnel, including an official of the ACP rank and 12 from Ullal police station, have tested positive for Covid-19 in the district in the last few days, police sources said.

A policeman from Mangaluru Rural station and another from Puttur station have also been infected.

All the personnel who tested positive have been admitted to the designated Covid-19 hospitals.

City police commissioner Vikash Kumar Vikash said adequate protection has been provided to police personnel who were fighting the pandemic and the members of their families.

As of Thursday, the total coronavirus cases in the district stood at 923 and the toll 18 while the state's infection count has crossed the 18,000 mark with 272 deaths.

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March 18,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 18: Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Wednesday met the Director-General of Police in Bengaluru and demanded police protection for Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs and the removal of BJP workers from the hotel in Bengaluru, where the legislators are currently lodged.

"The (Madhya Pradesh) legislators have come here and have requested police protection, that is all. Let the police give them protection, our candidate (Digvijaya Singh) has come, let him meet the legislators. Why are BJP workers protecting them? We know that they are under threat and hence we need to vacate them (BJP workers)," Shivakumar told reporters here after the meeting.

"We will give protection to our men and that is why we are telling them they cannot stop us. They should be in a free and fair position. I have communicated to DGP that BJP needs to vacate," he added.

Earlier today, Congress' Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh was placed under preventive arrest after he sat on a dharna near Ramada Hotel here, allegedly for not being allowed by police to meet the 21 Congress rebel MLAs lodged in a hotel.

"I am a Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh, voting is scheduled for March 26. My MLAs have been kept here, they want to speak to me, their phones have been snatched, the police is not letting me speak to them saying there is a security threat to MLAs," Singh told reporters.

Singh who sat on the dharna with a face mask on said: "We were expecting them to come back, but when we saw they're being held back, messages came from their families...I personally spoke to five MLAs, they said they're captive, phones snatched away, there is Police in front of every room. They're being followed 24/7," Singh said.

The development comes amid the political crisis in Madhya Pradesh after the exit of Jyotiraditya Scindia from the Congress party.

Scindia's departure was followed by 22 Congress MLAs resigning from the party as well as from the state legislative Assembly.

The resignation of these MLAs has left the Kamal Nath government below the majority mark.

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