The Philippine Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) warned overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who fled from their employer and want to be repatriated to the Philippines via the back-door exit through Jeddah. The runaway OFWs are advised to think twice before doing this because KSA is now aware of the practice and even implemented a stricter deportation rules.

Filipinos who wants to exit via back-door in Jeddah will claim that they are Umrah visa holders, since all expenses will be shouldered by the Saudi government. But this visa is valid only for a week and is issued only to Muslims who will visit and pray in the Holy Cities of Makkah, Madinah and its connecting roads.

The Philippine Ambassador Antonio Villamor said that the back door entry is no longer true and that claiming to be Umrah visa holder is neither the right nor easy way to get back home. Since the Saudi immigration and deportation is now aware of the practice, they thoroughly check the documents of expatriates including Filipinos.

Expats who are not from a Muslim country or do not have a Muslim name must be able to present documents to prove that Islam is really their religion. The same is true for those who converted from other religion to Islam.

Since there are OFWs who have changed their names as well as their religion for a faster processing of their repatriation, the immigration has tighten their screening and OFWs are not allowed to leave unless they have submitted proof of their identity that causes some delays of their deportation process.    

The ambassador said that they tried to seek help from the immigration and deportation authorities for Filipinos who are staying under the bridge for a few months but they were only sent back from where they came from.

The ambassador also said that the Philippine Embassy is not supporting the back door exit because it is not for the best interest of OFWs. They also reminded OFWs who works in KSA to lawfully obey their rules and regulations of their host country.

Likewise they advised Filipino community organizations to refrain from helping their fellow OFWs. They can instead contact the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, or the nearest Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) for appropriate action.