Saudi Arabia: employers of expats who work under 'free visa' to face jail time, hefty fine

Jeddah: Saudi Passport Directorate (Jawazat) has warned that employers who allow expatriates to do other work of their own free will face imprisonment and fines, as opposed to working on a visa, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

As per reports, an imprisonment for up to three months and a fine of 50,000 Saudi Riyals (SR) will be imposed for breaking the rules.

However, for the first time, employers face a one-month jail term and 5,000 SR fine. For a second time violation, they will be fined 10,000 SR and imprisoned for one month, and the third time the fine will be 20,000 SR and imprisonment for three months. But if the same thing happens again, employers face up to three months in prison and a fine of 50,000 Saudi Riyals.

The penalty will be depending on the number of workers employed through 'free' visas. In addition to that, the sponsors will be banned from recruitment for up to one year.

In the kingdom, only a limited number of visas are issued to various institutions. Jawazat has warned against the practice of diverting this out of those institutions.

Companies that hire an employee under another sponsor will also face fines and criminal procedures.

There will also be inspections as part of making the labour market more transparent.