Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM – The Ministry of Labor has officially warned expatriates against allowing their wives who are in the Kingdom as housewives to work in the private sector and said it considers anyone on a dependent visa working in the private sector as a violation of the residency laws and regulations of the Kingdom. It further said residency permits (iqamas) clearly stipulate that dependents are not allowed to seek employment since they do not hold work permits, press reports said on Friday. “Expatriate women's work in the private sector is not approved by the ministry's regulations. It is impermissible for any expatriate woman who has come to the Kingdom for any purpose other than work to be employed in any job. This regulation applies to all dependents,” said Hattab Al-Enezi, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Labor. “Expatriates who have work visas are not permitted to work for anyone other than their sponsors. Also, they cannot work in any profession other than the one they have been recruited for,” he added. Al-Enezi said the ministry's inspectors have not detected any violations committed by expatriate women working in the private sector. He drew attention to the fact that inspectors carry out field tours in different sectors to ensure compliance with the country's labor laws. The Ministry of Labor's latest warning comes after several companies were accused of employing expatriate women on dependent visas to work in managerial and marketing jobs in malls, hospitals and private schools in a clear violation of the labor law. Khulood Al-Tamimi, head of the women's section at the Council of Saudi Chambers, said the section is presently focusing its efforts on employing Saudi women in a variety of jobs.
