Unauthorized foreign workers, or those working on their account, will face severe penalties reaching up to six months in jail, a SR50,000 ($13,331) fine and deportation, local media said, quoting the General Directorate of Passports.

Penalties of work violators will come in a gradual step where expats working independently will be fined SR10,000 and deported if the violation is committed for the first time, while second-time offenders will be fined SR25,000, jailed for one month and deported, Al-Madinah daily said. Third-time offenders will incur a SR50,000-fine, a six-month jail term and deportation.

The Kingdom recently launched a campaign titled “A nation without violators” to hunt down work and residence violators. A 90-day amnesty period was given for violators to correct their status, which was later extended by one month to allow over-stayers to leave the country. Some 600,000 expatriate workers have so far benefited from the campaign since its inception in March.

The Interior and Labor Ministries are reportedly coordinating efforts to flush out illegals to regulate the labor market in the framework of the current plans to apply Vision 2030.

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