Overseas Filipino Workers and aspiring OFWs, beware: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) Ministry of Interior made a recent issuance entitled “Rules Governing Law-Breaching Foreign Workers” where foreign worker offenders will be prosecuted, penalized or deported if and when:

-foreign workers are illegally working in the country;

-who abscond from work;

-overstays in the country who hold Hajj, Umrah, tourism, medical treatment, transit, or visit (of all types) visas; and

-infiltrators are arrested outside the border area.

The law does not make any exemptions to employers and recruiters who qualify as violator of the following:

-employ offending foreign workers;

-allow his workers to work for their own account

-provide cover, harbors, or transports the same or aids them by any means in illegal labor; and

-recruiters who do not report overstaying recruits.

The Department of Labor and Employment said that Saudi employers must make sure that their hired Overseas Filipino Workers obtain or renew their iqama (work permit/residence permit) regularly. Employers should not be involved in allowing their hired OFW to work for a party other than them and must be vigilant in reporting foreign employees absconding from work to authorities.

If proven to be violators of any of this rule, any OFW may lose his residence/work visa and will not be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a period not exceeding five years.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh encourages all Filipino nationals to conform and comply to the new labor and residency rules set by the Saudi government for all foreign workers in their country.