Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – Deportation centers under the Passport Directorate will start issuing final exit stamps next week, in a special drive to help stranded Indian workers to leave the Kingdom taking advantage of the grace period announced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, an Indian diplomat said here on Wednesday.



Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai said the passport authorities would fingerprint unregulated foreigners wishing to leave the country and put exit stamps on their passports or emergency certificates (ECs) from next week.



Addressing a meeting of community leaders and media personnel at the Consulate General, Kidwai said the consulate will issue new passports to Indians who want to correct their residency and work status but have their passports withheld by sponsors. To get new passports they have to produce a letter of employment from their new sponsors, he said.



The meeting was convened to explain about a new advisory issued by the consulate clarifying concessions, exceptions and procedures to be followed with regard to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labor on May 10.



Kidwai explained the elaborate arrangements made by the consulate to help unregulated Indian workers and urged them to utilize this unique opportunity to correct the status. “The Indian Embassy and the Consulate General are working on a war footing to address this issue before the deadline of July 3. All Indians who need to rectify their status or want to leave the Kingdom should rush to complete the procedures as we have only 43 days remaining to help them,” Kidwai said.



According to Kidwai, the new drive of putting exit stamp on travel documents is likely to be launched any time next week starting Saturday.



“Any individual who wants to benefit from this drive should approach the deportation center with their passports or the emergency exit passes. They need not produce an air ticket at the time to get the exit stamp," he said, adding they however will have to leave the country before the grace period ends.



Kidwai said those who have expired passports also can apply for the emergency certificates. “We are not charging any fee for the EC application form,” he said, while thanking the government of India for waiving the SR65 fee.



People who have their passports expired can still apply for a new passport within six months from the expiry date, Kidwai said.



The consulate has prepared a schedule for delivery of ECs from May 21. At least 500 ECs will be delivered every day. The delivery schedule for those applied until May 12 from the outstation centers is as follows: Taif (June 13), Abha (May 23), Tabuk (June 20), Madinah (June 1), Najran and Jazan (June 27), Yanbu (June 6), Bisha (May 23), Baha (June 13), Qunfudah (June 20) and Makkah (June 1).  



The consul general said even people who have lost their iqama or entry visa numbers can obtain exit stamps after retrieving their data from the online databank of the Passport Department using fingerprints.



Kidwai said the diplomatic missions have requested the government of India for air-fare concessions for Indian workers returning home.



He said until Wednesday, 15,270 Indians have approached the consulate for ECs. Workers from Uttar Pradesh came first, followed by those from West Bengal and Kerala.



Kidwai said the passport authorities have so far handed over about 7,500 surrendered passports of Indians to the consulate. “Most of these passports have been surrendered by their sponsors, and the consulate has uploaded a list of these passports on its website. All Indians who lost their passports may visit the website (www.cgijeddah.com) or call the help lines (02 2611483/02 2614093) from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on all days except Fridays,” he said, adding that the passports will be returned to the holders in person and not to their representatives.



Kidwai also urged the concerned Indians to check the Labor Ministry’s website to know their Huroob (run away) status.