Saudi: 240,000 expats legalize status

June 7, 2013

Saudi_expats

Jeddah, Jun 7: Nearly 240,000 expatriates have so far corrected their work status by transferring their sponsorship to companies where they presently work or to new employers, since the announcement of an amnesty for illegals two months ago.

“A total of 239,883 expat workers have corrected their status so far,” the Ministry of Labor said in a statement, adding that 34,262 workers on average across the Kingdom had their status corrected every week.

The ministry added that 221,262 foreign workers had changed their profession during the amnesty period, with 30,180 workers on average receiving the service weekly.

“Thus, as many as 461,145 expats have so far made use of the ministry’s services,” the statement said.

The ministry’s Riyadh offices extended their services to 78,833 workers to change their sponsorship. The Makkah region came second with 45,576 transferring their sponsorships. The Baha office had the lowest number of 2,104 transfer cases. As a result of the huge crowd of expatriates who want to correct their status before the expiry of the amnesty on July 3, the ministry has canceled the annual leave of its workers at headquarters as well as branch offices this summer.

“The leave has been cancelled to help as many expatriates as possible to correct their status,” the ministry said, adding that employees would be allowed to enjoy their leave soon after the end of the amnesty period.

“Those who wish to surrender their leave will be compensated,” the ministry said.

Employers whose foreign workers have been allowed to transfer their sponsorships without their permission would be compensated with recruitment visas if labor offices found their demand genuine.

In a related development, Brig. Mohammed Al-Anazi, director of expatriates department at the Passport Office in Riyadh, said that more than 150,000 illegals have already left the Kingdom.

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Gulf News
April 12,2020

Dubai, Apr 12: Saudi Arabia reported 429 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4462, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday.

The ministry also confirmed 7 deaths bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 59.

According to the ministry of health the number of recoveries are 41 cases, making total of recoveries 761.

Ministry also said that 40,000 have been quarantined since the beginning of the epidemic, and only 7,000 remain in quarantine, including those who recently returned from abroad.

Extension of curfew

Early on Sunday, King Salman approved the extension of curfew until further notice due to current rates of coronavirus spread, the official news agency SPA announced.

Earlier last week, Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar.

Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Makkah and Medina along with Riyadh and Jeddah, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.

Total lockdown on Medina neighbourhoods

The Ministry of Interior also announced a total lockdown on five neighbourhoods in Medina on thursday until further notice. The neighborhoods include Al Sherbat; Bani Dhafar; Qurban, Al Jumuah; and parts of Al Iskan district and Bani Khudrah. No one is allowed to enter or exit these areas.

An official source from the ministry highlighted that the Ministry of Labor and Social Development will provide residents of these neighbourhoods with food baskets and will follow up on their needs while the ministry of health will provide them with necessary medications.

Saudi Arabia, which has reported the highest number of infections in the Gulf, is making every possible effort to limit the spread of the disease at home.

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News Network
July 13,2020

Dubai, July 13: An explosion caused by a gas leak damaged a restaurant, and nearby shops at a residential building in Dubai on Monday morning. 

According to Brigadier Abdul Haleem Al Hashemi, Deputy Director of Al Qusais Police Station, the incident took place at 4am when the restaurant was closed.

No injuries were reported, but two nearby shops, a pharmacy, a salon and three cars were severely damaged.

"Dubai Police patrols were immediately dispatched to the scene and worked with Dubai Civil Defense to evacuate residents of the two-storey building as a precautionary measure," Brig Al Hashimi explained.

Preliminary investigations showed that the blast was caused by a gas leak, the officer said. The Crime Scene Department of the General Department of Forensics and Criminology in Dubai is studying the evidence collected from the site and will be preparing the final report on the accident.

Brig Al Hashimi urged restaurant owners to ensure that all safety and security systems at their outlets are in good condition. Regular maintenance checks should also be conducted on all pipes and gas regulators, especially during the summer season.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Kuwait, Aug 2: Kuwait has barred entry of foreign passengers from over 30 countries including India and China.

A circular from the Director General Civil Aviation, State of Kuwait directed all airlines operating at Kuwait International Airport to adhere to the instructions in this regard.

"Based on the decision of the Health Authority in State of Kuwait, no foreign passenger coming from the down listed countries will be allowed to enter the State of Kuwait," the circular read.

These include- India, Iran, China, Brazil, Colombia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Beirut ,Serbia Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Kosovo.

The circular stated that such restriction will also include the passengers were present 14 days before the date of travel until further notice.

The ban was announced the same day Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights according to Khaleej Times, which quoted authorities stating that Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30 per cent capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months.

According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has reported 67,448 cases of coronavirus while the fatalities related to the virus stand at 453.

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