Egyptians respond to Saudi campaign

CAIRO – 18 July 2017: More than 21,000 Egyptians obtained departure visas in response to “A Nation Without Violators” campaign between the period of March 29 to July 12, Egyptian ambassador in Riyadh Nasser Hamdi said on Tuesday.

A Nation Without Violators campaign was launched by the Saudi authorities to legalize the departure of non-Saudi residency and labor law violators and allow them the chance to leave the country without having to pay penalties.

Egyptian diplomats in Riyadh urged unregulated Egyptian employees and workers in Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the 90-day grace period before it ends on July 24.

The Egyptian consulate in Riyadh offers all kinds of assistance to the Egyptians who seek regulate their residency status in Saudi, Egyptian consular in Riyadh Hani Salah said on Tuesday. He added that the Egyptian consulate has run many orientation advertisements on social media networks.

A Nation Without Violators is an extension of the campaign launched three years ago by the Saudi authorities with more than 2.5 million irregular migrant workers departing under the program.

Under the rules of the campaign, any expat violating the rules of residence and work, would not be fingerprinted at the time of departure and could come back to the kingdom legally any time.