18,000 Indian expats in Saudi Arabia get exit papers

Of about 60,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia who applied for emergency exit papers following a new labour policy in that country, 18,000 have got their documents processed.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission in the Indian embassy in Riyadh, said the figure included the travel papers processed both in the embassy and the Indian consulate in Jeddah, local media reported Thursday.

The workers thronged the Indian missions after Saudi Arabia implemented the Nitaqat or Saudisation policy, which makes it mandatory for all Saudi companies to reserve 10 percent of jobs for Saudi nationals.

The Saudi government has announced an amnesty period for expatriate workers to either get their residency status regularised or leave the country.

Meanwhile, the Indian consulate in Jeddah has issued some important guidelines for workers affected by the Nitaqat policy, which, it said, have been uploaded in the consulate's website, www.cgijeddah.com.