JEDDAH – Saudi Passport authorities have made original identification documents mandatory for completing exit procedures of illegal foreigners who wish to leave the Kingdom for good, a diplomat said on Thursday. Consul General of India Faiz Ahmed Kidwai urged all illegal Indians to come with their residency permits (iqama) or original passports with entry visas to get fingerprinted from next Tuesday, the designated day for fingerprinting for Indians at the Jeddah Deportation Center (Tarheel). Earlier, illegal foreigners needed to produce only a copy of their iqama or the entry visa number for completion of exit procedures. Addressing a meeting of Indian social workers, volunteers and media persons at the consulate on Thursday evening, Kidwai said those who do not have their IDs should go to the nearest passport office with photographs to get a printout of their fingerprint status. Anyone without their IDs or the printouts will not be entertained at the Tarheel from Tuesday onward, he said. Kidwai said the consulate has so far issued 24,099 emergency certificates (ECs). “We are still receiving applications for ECs, which are being issued on a daily basis, and issuing tokens for fingerprinting will continue until Sept. 24. Among those who secured ECs, people from Uttar Pradesh came first with 11,055, followed by West Bengal (4,770), Kerala (2,190) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,300). According to the consul general, a total of 8,916 illegal Indians have been fingerprinted, and out of them 6,669 have got final exit visas. “We have issued 5,560 passports on an urgent basis to Indian workers who wanted to rectify their legal status in the Kingdom,” he said while noting that more than 5,000 have secured employment through job fairs and direct recruitment from the consulate premises. He ruled out the possibility of holding more job fairs as turnout was very low at the last fair. “Only 400 Indians approached Tarheel last Tuesday to get fingerprinted compared to more than 1,000 on every Tuesday before Ramadan,” Kidwai said while urging Indians to hurry up and complete their exit procedures as time was running out. S.R.H. Fahmi, community welfare consul, K. Jain, labor consul, and Raj Kumar, community welfare consul also attended the meeting.
