Nitaqat Law

• Saudi Arabia may restrict expats' stay to eight years

  Saudi Arabia might restrict foreign workers' stay in the country to a maximum of eight years under a proposed law to create jobs for its citizens.

• Saudi Arabia migrant crackdown closes shops, raises fears

  Garbage is piling up on streets around the mosque housing the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad. Grocery stores have shut their doors and almost half of Saudi Arabia's small construction firms have stopped working on projects.

• Filipinos camp outside consulate waiting to leave Saudi

  Some 300 Filipinos have been camping outside their consulate in Jeddah for weeks waiting for documents and help to leave Saudi Arabia, as a crackdown on illegal migrants intensifies.

• No leniency for illegal foreign workers: Saudi Arabia

  Saudi Arabia said Saturday that there would be no leniency shown toward those organisations who hire illegal immigrants, Xinhua reported.

• Kerala to the rescue of Saudi returnees as Nitaqat deadline expires

  The exodus of migrant workers from Saudi Arabia continues, with nearly 100 people returning to Kerala on a daily basis since November 3.

• Free air tickets for Keralites returning from Saudi Arabia

  Kerala government has decided to provide free air tickets to Keralites who want to return from Saudi Arabia, where illegal foreigners were targeted under the country's new labour law, a state minister said.

• 150 Indians registered in drive by mission in Saudi Arabia

  Around 150 Indian expatriates registered themselves during a special drive launched today by the Indian Embassy to assist individuals who have overstayed in Saudi Arabia.

• Kerala government to help returnees from Saudi Arabia

  Kerala government has worked out schemes to help expatriates who return from Saudi Arabia due to implementation of new labour law 'Nitaqat' which mandates companies to hire locals, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in Thiruvananthapuram today.

• Saudi Arabia regularises status of 40 lakh expatriate workers

  Saudi Arabia has completed regularisation of nearly four million foreign workers in the last four months as part of its 'Nitaqat' programme, with 1.18 million expats choosing to change their profession.

• 5,000 Indian expats in Saudi Arabia get new jobs

  Around 5,000 expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, affected by a new labour policy in the Gulf nation, have found new jobs, the Indian consul general in Jeddah said.

• Kerala minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait to help Indians

  Kerala Minister for Diaspora K.C. Joseph will visit Saudi Arabia and Kuwait this week to monitor arrangements for the smooth transfer of Keralites who have to leave these countries due to their new labour laws.

• Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia to process 12,000 more passes

  The Indian embassy in Riyadh will start the verification and delivery process of a third batch of 12,000 applications for emergency certificates sought by expatriate Indian workers in Saudi Arabia who want to leave that country for good.

• Foreign workers queue to quit Saudi Arabia

  Tens of thousands of foreign workers are trying to leave Saudi Arabia after the government of the world's No. 1 oil exporter said they would be forgiven any fees or fines for visa violations such as overstaying or switching jobs.

• Saudi's Nitaqat law: Procedures implemented in Indian workers' interest, says Finance Minister Al-Faisal

  In a bid to allay India's concerns over the controversial 'Nitaqat' labour law, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal today said "procedures" are being taken in the "best interest of Indian workers".

• Saudi's 'Nitaqat' law: 75,000 Indians set to return, numbers could go up

  With thousands of Indians set to return from Saudi Arabia due to the 'Nitaqat' law, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said that state governments have been "forewarned" so that the situation does not become "unmanageable".