You are here: Home / Updates / Saudi Arabia: Filipino workers urged to rectify their status
Saudi Arabia: Filipino workers urged to rectify their status

Saudi Arabia: Filipino workers urged to rectify their status

Comments
by IDWFED published May 14, 2013 12:00 AM
The Philippine Embassy yesterday urged Filipinos in the Kingdom to correct their status in keeping with the grace period announced by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labor.

Details

SAUDI ARABIA -

Read the original article in full: Filipinos urged to rectify their status | Arab News

The Philippine Embassy yesterday urged Filipinos in the Kingdom to correct their status in keeping with the grace period announced by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labor.

“This means that workers can easily correct their residency and labor status or leave the Kingdom without even having to obtain 'no-objection certificates,'” Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said in a statement.

Under the guidelines, Filipinos with irregularities in their residency and labor status have the following options:

  • Workers can either return to their original employer upon mutual agreement or transfer to a new employer without the permission or consent of the original employer;
  • Companies can rectify the status of their workers during the grace period free of charge;
  • Runaway domestic workers (known as 'huroob') can return to their original individual employer or transfer to a new individual employer. The prospective individual employer can complete procedures for the transfer of the worker through the 'jawazat' (passport) offices.
  • Household workers can also transfer to a private sector company through the offices of the Ministry of Labor;
  • Illegal Filipino workers have the option of leaving the Kingdom on a final-exit basis instead without the need to obtain no-objection cetificate (NOC) from their current employers provided they do not have criminal charges against them. They will also be allowed to return to the Kingdom in the future if they are able to obtain valid working visas.
  • Haj and Umrah overstayers who arrived in the Kingdom prior to July 4, 2008 can rectify their status as either a domestic worker or as a private sector company employee. Those with expired Haj and Umrah visas who arrived after that date can leave without incurring penalty.

All penalties and fines incurred by an illegal worker prior to April 6, 2013 will be waived with the exception of regular processing charges.

Private rights claims between a Filipino worker and his or her current employer will be settled through court and will not prevent the worker from transferring to a new employer.

Employers are obligated to hand over all personal documents to the worker, including passports and residency permits (iqama), upon request. Employers are also obligated to make sure that the residency permit of their workers are valid. Failure to do so will provide sufficient ground for a worker to end their contractual relationship with their employer.

Specific guidelines are available in both English and Tagalog on the embassy's website www.philembassy-riyadh.org.

Photo: Arab News

Source: Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr./Arab News

Story Type: News

blog comments powered by Disqus