Visa selling Haraam: Al-Obeikan

JEDDAH – Selling of work visas is Haraam (forbidden) and exploitation of expatriate workers does not have religious sanction, Sheikh Abdul

Obeikan, Adviser to the Minister of Justice and member of the Shoura Council, has said.
He said selling of visas violates the regulations as they are issued in the interest of the people.
The practice of exploiting workers by selling visas and then allowing them to work somewhere else for money is a despicable act and clearly violates the Shariah provisions, Okaz reported him as saying.
Several cases have come to light where the original sponsors have been demanding money every month from workers under their sponsorship.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bakr Bin Khushaim, member of the Shoura Council, said the Passports Department, labor offices and other related departments should conduct a study to root out the practice of selling visas.
Dr. Suhaila Zain Al-Abedeen from the National Society for Human Rights said selling visas to workers, exploiting them and usurping their rights amount to human trafficking that is banned worldwide.
He said the society has presented a number of proposals to the Shoura Council to rectify the situation. Dr. Al-Abedeen did not divulge details of the proposals and said they will be made public soon.
Dr. Muflih Al-Qahtani, Deputy Chairman of the National Society for Human Rights, said a recent study is under way to focus on sponsorship laws in the Kingdom.
Al-Qahtani said there was a pressing need to identify stray workers (who are not working under their sponsors).
Dr. Osama Abu Ghararah, member of the Shoura Council, said selling of visas and exploitation of workers are just individual cases since the Ministry of Labor has laid down stiff laws to control the phenomenon. __