Indian Embassy officials in Saudi Arabia have reiterated that there was no reason for any panic as the deadline for ‘Nitaqat’ ended on Sunday. “The Saudi authorities have assured us that they would not arrest or deport those who have begun the process of legalizing their migration status, even if they have not been able to complete it by November 3,” Sibi George, deputy chief of Indian mission in Saudi Arabia, said over phone from Riyadh.
He advised Indians going to the country to ensure that they have proper employment visas in future. “Saudi Arabia has made it clear that none of the migrants who have arrived there on free visas will be allowed to work there in future. So job-seekers in Saudi Arabia should get their documents thoroughly vetted,” he said.
The embassy officials also hoped that the new measure would usher in a paradigm shift in Indian migration to Saudi Arabia from unskilled to medium and high-skilled labour.
“Nearly 1.4 million Indians have utilized the grace period allowed by the Saudi authorities from April to November to get their status legalized,” George said. “They include those who were able to renew their work permit. Many who made it to Saudi Arabia with visas for low-end categories of jobs were able to change their visa status to the profession commensurate with their educational qualification and training. Many Indians utilized the grace period to change from small firms to bigger firms.”
He said only those who have migrated to the country by wrongly projecting their skill levels will face problems once the ‘Nitaqat’ enforcement began. The embassy has set up help cells at the tarheel (deportation centre) and labour office in Riyadh and Dammam to assist those who are not eligible under the grace period concessions. George said there would be more opportunities emerging in the country in fields like education, IT and construction. The number of Indians in Saudi Arabia had gone up by 0.4 million in a year.
The non-resident Keralite affairs (NoRKA) department has also set up informal volunteers’ cells in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to support Keralites facing problems in Saudi Arabia during Nitaqat enforcement. Additional secretary R S Kannan said steps had also been taken for starting help desks in Mumbai and Delhi airports.
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