Indian Overstayers Clog Deportation System - KSA

(MENAFN - Arab News) JEDDAH, 6 June 2007 ? Saudi authorities have expressed grave concern at the rising number of illegal migrants, especially from India, who enter the Kingdom in search of livelihood through easily obtainable pilgrim visas. Nearly 1,000 Indians were deported in a 24-hour period yesterday.The authorities recently issued an amnesty promising no punishment for illegal residents who turned themselves in. The amnesty ended Friday. In recent days, Arab News has observed hundreds of illegal residents ? most of whom are Indian nationals who came on Umrah visa and stayed to work illegally ? camped in squalid conditions under numerous Jeddah bridges waiting to be arrested by immigration authorities.Officials at the Passport Department have been struggling to find them room at the deportation center in Jeddah, which is currently coping with the mad rush of illegal residents taking advantage of the amnesty."Nearly 8,000 overstayers are packed in Tarheel (the Jeddah deportation center)," an immigration official, who did not want to be named, said yesterday. "The center's capacity is only 5,500."Jeddah Passport Department chief Brig. Gen. Muhammad Al-Asmari, chief of Diplomatic Security Lt. Col. Badr Shalhoub and Ministry of Haj representative Fahd Mohsen Adwani have been in consultations over the past week with Indian consular officials to find a solution to the problem of Indian nationals pouring into the Kingdom on Umrah visas in order to find work.The Saudis have been grappling with the problem of overstayers for the past several years with little success. Every year, Saudi officials have said, the problem assumes greater proportions. Jeddah is a particular magnet for this problem because it is a commercial and employment center near the holy city of Makkah.Indian consular officials say that in addition to illegal overstayers in Jeddah, illegal migrants from all over the Kingdom stream into Jeddah."They are under the impression that it is easier to get deported from Jeddah," said Indian Consul General Ausaf Sayeed, adding that the consulate is doing everything it can to help them.At one time, Pakistani nationals topped the list of overstayers. "In 2005, nearly 60,000 Pakistanis had overstayed their visas, while the Indian figure was put at 40,000," one source told Arab News. Since then the Pakistani government has worked to tackle the situation and control it. "They brought the number (of overstayers per year) down to 10,000, but the problem with Indians has remained," the source said.Last year, the Indian Consulate issued about 25,000 emergency certificates to its nationals who come without documentation seeking a way to leave the Kingdom. These certificates are required before deportation for those who do not otherwise have proof of identity and nationality.Saudi government officials are seeking ways to resolve the problem, because the expense of deporting overstaying pilgrims lands squarely on Saudi Arabia."These overstayers need to be accommodated in deportation centers and then they are sent back at state expense. Naturally they are upset and are taking a series of measures to stop this problem from getting even more out of hand," said an Indian Consulate official.This has prompted Saudi authorities to take up the issue with the Indian government. Haj Minister Fouad Al-Farsy discussed the issue with Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed when he met him for the signing of the Haj agreement last month.The Saudis have sought India's help in evolving some kind of mechanism to regulate pilgrim traffic from India. According to details of the meeting, the Indian side expressed its inability to play any direct role in resolving the problem of Umrah overstayers because the tour operators in India work in tandem with Saudi counterparts to bring pilgrims to the holy cities."The simple reason is that we don't know who the Umrah travel agents in India are who are sending them here and who their counterparts here in the Kingdom are," said Consul General Sayeed. "We have no control over them nor are we in touch with them. These travel agents in India who procure Umrah visas for these unscrupulous elements are authorized by the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi as well the Saudi Consulate in Mumbai."Sayeed pointed out that the problem has more to do with pilgrims who come for Umrah and not those who come for Haj, pointing out that India's Ministry of External Affairs registers Haj operators and the whole process is carefully regulated."As far as Haj is concerned we can account for each and every pilgrim who has come. Nobody stays back," he said. "That is a foolproof system."A Saudi official, who did not want to be named, confirmed that the problem is more with the Umrah pilgrims."This is a perpetual problem," he said. "The bulk of the overstayers are Umrah pilgrims. They come here on Umrah visas in the hope that they will be able to find jobs easily. But after remaining here for three to four months they realize that it is very difficult to get a job. The rules are being tightened, and chances of an Umrah visa being converted into a job visa are next to nothing."Now authorities want to know how to plug the loopholes. Authorities are hoping to monitor more closely the conduct of local pilgrimage operators, such as making sure they are keeping the passports and tickets of their clients in order to easily identify those who go missing from the tour.According to the Indian mission, the problem seems to be lack of awareness and education among Indians back home."Ninety percent of the Umrah overstayers are from the Indian state of Kerala," said the consul general. "Unless the Kerala state government gets involved, we see no end to this problem."Fingerprinting to Be IntroducedIn future, the Saudi authorities will introduce the fingerprinting of Umrah pilgrims."We have already started it on a small scale, but it will be a full-fledged operation in the next year or so," said one Saudi official. "Until that time the problem of overstayers will persist."Indian overstayers fall into three categories: First, those who have passports and money but face exit problems due to unresolved debts or other snags; second, people who have passports but have overstayed their pilgrimage visas and have no money, seeking a free return-ticket home at the expense of the Saudi government; third, those who have neither the money nor identification."This third category is the most problematic group," said the Indian consul general. "We need to interview them to ascertain their nationality. Just because somebody speaks Urdu, or Tamil, or Hindi, or Bengali doesn't mean they are Indians. It is a security issue. We don't want just anybody to enter our borders through this system."The consul general admitted that the whole problem is humanitarian in nature."But one shouldn't forget that all these people have violated Saudi law by coming here on an Umrah visa with the intention of working here and then disappearing," he said. "We should thank the Saudi authorities that, though the problem is so big in magnitude, they are still tackling it in a very humanitarian way. Sending planeloads of illegals free of charge is not a small thing."He lashed out at those Indian organizations that send faxes to the consulate and the embassy and the leadership in India. "The problem is not simple. These organizations that are paying mere lip service to the illegal Indians allege that the consulate is taking its time in issuing emergency certificates."The consul general disputed the allegation. "We cannot issue emergency certificates to everybody who is waiting to be arrested under various bridges in Jeddah. They have to be first arrested by the police, and only then can we issue the certificates," he explained.He said some Indian organizations were playing a proactive role in providing help to illegal Indians camped under various bridges. "The Jeddah Muslim Ekta Samiti and the Gulf Resident Indian Tamils (GRIT) along with consulate staff were providing humanitarian assistance to those in need."