Saudi Arabia to slap SR100,000 fine on employers hiring foreign workers illegally

Saudi Arabia to slap SR100,000 fine on employers

The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) has warned that hefty fines amounting up to SR100,000 will be slapped on any establishment that employs foreigners in violation of the labor and residency regulations.

The same penalty will be imposed on any establishment that allows its foreign workers to engage in jobs for their own personal benefit or work with employers other than their original employers, it said.

Defaulting establishments will also be banned from recruiting foreign workers for a period of up to five years. The names of the establishments will be published in local media at their own expense. The managers concerned with illegally hiring foreign workers will be sentenced to one year in prison, and this will be followed by deportation if he is an expatriate. The Jawazat clarified that the fines will be multiplied with the number of foreign workers involved in the violation.

The Jawazat urged the public to inform it about cases of violations of residency, labor, and border security regulations by calling the number 911 in Makkah and Riyadh regions, and 999 in all other regions of the Kingdom.