Saudi Arabia Denies Halting Visas for Lebanese Laborers
The Saudi Embassy in Beirut denied on Monday a report saying that several Lebanese nationals were informed that the kingdom halted issuing visas for the Lebanese.
“The report is false... Visas are still being issued according to the adopted mechanism without any changes,” the embassy said in a statement.
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported earlier that several residents from the southern port city of Sidon headed to the Saudi embassy in Beirut to apply for visas to enter the kingdom, however, they couldn't.
An employee at the embassy informed them that issuing visas for the Lebanese is currently halted until further notice, the newspaper said.
In March, Gulf Cooperation Council's secretary general Abdul Latif al-Zayani handed over to President Michel Suleiman a letter expressing “great concern” over the government's failure to abide by the Baabda Declaration.
Media reports said that the letter stressed the obstacles threatening the Lebanese-Gulf relations and the interests of Lebanon in GCC states including the conditions of around 600,000 expatriates in the Gulf.
The Baabda Declaration was sponsored by Suleiman and calls for different parties to adhere to the disassociation policy to avoid the spread of the unrest in Syria to Lebanese territories.
An official statement carried by SPA state news agency on Sunday said that Saudi Arabia has given illegal foreign workers a three-month grace period to legalize their status, after panic over reported mass deportations.
King Abdullah ordered the interior and labor ministries to allow "workers violating the labor and residency system a maximum of three months to rectify their situation," said the statement.
The Saudi authorities this year imposed new labor constraints affecting millions of expatriates in the Gulf state, in a move that sparked fears of mass deportations among the immigrant workers.
The new regulations introduced by the labor ministry aim to reduce the number of foreign workers to create jobs for millions of unemployed Saudis.
Under the new rules, foreigners are allowed to work only for their legal sponsors in the kingdom while their spouses cannot take up jobs.
The labor ministry imposed new quotas in 2011 on companies regarding the hiring of local staff, which determines their ability to recruit foreigners.
11 years
Hehe keep dreaming neon lol. More likely that lebanon will have returned to being syria if not by 2015 then in the years to come.
11 years
Who needs Saudi Arabia when we have Iran ,only joking.
11 years
"... handed over to President Michel Suleiman a letter expressing “great concern” over the government's failure to abide by the Baabda Declaration."
Who are these desert tribal terrorists to tell us how to run our country?
11 years
600K Lebanese work in the gulf.
are you in your right mind when you say such comments?
are you ready to receive those Lebanese back without jobs or income?
are you prepared to lose their current income?
11 years
thank you for telling that to their families :) those families who will have nothing to live on from now on :)
you are so irresponsible to a degree unseen before.
what is it? is it because you are jealous of these guys who are working while you have to wait on your Iranian salary?
11 years
Not really, those Gas fields will be the reason for a new civil war, each party will claim they should have a piece of the money, neighbouring countries will not allow Lebanon to make use of the money, because money means power,. what a shame.
11 years
The report is from Al-Akhbar--enough said.....
11 years
I would never set foot in this god forsaken country.
almost 11 years
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/labourer
Please change the headline, its embarrassing!
almost 11 years
Hani, Labor is the US spelling, Labour is the UK spelling. There is nothing embarrassing. Tomato, Tomato :)
over 9 years
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
نحنو لجنةمسجدومركذعائشه للدعوه والاغاثه
نرجو منكوم اعطائونه تئشيراة حج لفكراء
لبنانين من طرابلس والرحله علا نفقة المركز
الله مع العبدمادام العبدفي عوني اخيه
in 2015 they'll be working for us! lol the irony