Saudi Arabia bans seven professions

Saudi Arabia has banned foreigners from work in seven more categories of government contracts as part of its policy to create jobs for its own citizens, Al Shark Al Awsatt newspaper said.

Saudi authorities will no longer issue work permits or extend existing ones to expatriates as laborers, stone masons, painters and four other areas of manual labor in the public sector.

The new policy is expected to affect thousands of immigrant workers, many of whom come from the Indian subcontinent, as the work permits have to be renewed every two years. Some foreign workers, however, could continue to find jobs in the private sector economy in Saudi Arabia.