The number of visas decreased in the second quarter of this year, according to a survey prepared by “Mubasher” based on the data of the General Authority for Statistics, by 502.86 thousand visas for the total number of visas issued according to the administrative records of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the National Information Center in the same period of 2019.
The total number of issued work visas decreased to 49.57 thousand visas only during the second quarter of 2020, compared to 552.43 thousand visas issued in the same quarter last year.
Work visas issued in Saudi Arabia for foreign male workers witnessed a significant decrease in the second quarter of this year. By 91.1% year-on-year, with a decrease equivalent to 404.66 thousand visas; To reach 39.45 thousand visas only, compared to 444.1 thousand visas in the second quarter of 2019.
As for work visas issued to females, they decreased 90.66%, or the equivalent of 98.21 thousand visas, to 10.12 thousand visas, compared to 108.33 thousand visas in the second quarter of last year.
On April 29, 2020, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the start of implementing a mechanism to allow the cancellation and refund of fees for work visas for workers in the private sector.
The decision included work visas for workers in the private sector that were granted by the Kingdom’s missions abroad on passports, and were not used due to the suspension of international flights.
On March 16, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development decided to temporarily suspend the procedures for mediating the recruitment of domestic workers, through the electronic contracting system, until further notice.
The number of visas issued in the second quarter of this year was affected by the decrease in the number of work visas issued to the private sector by 89.6%, equivalent to 275.47 thousand visas for the same period last year.
A total of 32.04 thousand work visas for the private sector, compared to 307.51 thousand visas in the second quarter of 2019.
On the government visas side, work visas for the government sector decreased by 48.3% in the second quarter of 2020 year-on-year, with the equivalent of 110.53 thousand visas, to record 11.83 thousand visas, compared to 22.88 thousand visas issued in the second quarter of last year.
Visas issued to the individual sector decreased by more than 97.4% in the second quarter of this year, which constitutes 216.34 thousand visas, to only 5.7 thousand visas, compared to the number of 222.04 thousand visas in the second quarter of 2019.
On a quarterly basis, work visas issued to workers in the Kingdom decreased by more than 91.5% during the second quarter of 2020, with a decrease equivalent to 534.18 thousand visas compared to the total number of 385.75 visas issued in the first quarter of the same year, which amounted to 385.75 thousand visas.
Work visas issued to males in the first quarter of 2020 amounted to 471.24 thousand visas, compared to 112.51 thousand visas for females.
On March 23, the General Directorate of Passports called on all residents inside the Kingdom who have final exit visas and exit and return visas to quickly initiate their cancellation before their expiry.
On March 20, the Saudi government decided to exempt expatriates whose residency has expired from the date until June 30, 2020, from the fee, by extending the period of their residency for a period of 3 months without charge, and enabling employers to recover fees for issued work visas. It was not used during the ban on entry and exit from the Kingdom, even if it was stamped in the passport, or extended for 3 months without charge.
The total workers in Saudi Arabia reached 13.63 million workers in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 12.86 million workers in the same quarter of last year, an increase of 6% year-on-year, and compared with 13.64 million workers in the first quarter of this year.
The number of Saudi workers increased by 2.6% to 3.17 million workers in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 3.09 million workers in the same quarter of last year, down 0.99% from the first quarter of this year, whose number reached 3.2 million by the end of it.
The number of expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia increased by 7.09% at the end of the second quarter of 2020 year on year, to 10.46 million workers, compared to 9.77 million workers in the same quarter of 2019, and compared to 10.43 million workers in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 0.26%.
Nominations:
The average salaries of Saudis decline to 9.97 thousand riyals … and the wages of expatriates rise by 2.17%
Statistics: The number of Saudi workers decreased and the number of foreign workers increased in the second quarter
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