Saudi Arabia tracks down illegal residents

The deadline set by the Saudi Interior Ministry for all illegal foreign residents on the Saudi territories to register their themselves ended last Thursday.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stated that the deadline is not going to be extended and that it is going to track down all illegal residents in the toughest campaign implemented by the Saudi government to adjust the status of the illegal residents.

Saudi security forces started mopping-up operations to track down those who did not abide by the laws whether by those who are staying illegally or those who protect them. Though it is impossible to determine the number of illegal residents who were driven out or who will be driven out in the future, their number could reach tens of thousands.

Foreign embassies and consulates in Riyadh witnessed huge gatherings of people wanting to obtain travel documents. Sudan witnessed the largest number of its citizens coming back from Saudi Arabia while the number of Sudanese staying illegally in Saudi Arabia is estimated at about 100 thousand.