Expats to be allowed to practice own trade, KSA offers 90-day amnesty to visa violaters

[Saif al-Arab]

Expats to be allowed to practice own trade

March 20, 2017



RIYADH — The government is currently considering to allow expatriates to invest in free trade against an annual income tax of about 20 percent, business daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported on Sunday.

A number of transactions were limited to the Saudis, which gave rise to the phenomenon of tasattur (doing business in the name of Saudis against certain fees) that has caused the national economy to lose billions of riyals.

According to informed sources, the concerned authorities are currently conducting studies to impose two types of tax on the expatriates. The first one will be on the accounts the expatriates may present including revenues, expenditure and profits.

The second will be on the estimated profits in case no dividends are announced. In his case, the tax will be fixed according to the area of activity. It will be 15 percent on the sector of contracting and about 25 percent on consultancy services.

According to the sources, the new procedures will enable the expatriate to be his own sponsor without the need for a Saudi kafeel (sponsor) after obtaining the license to invest in any free trade area such as workshops, catering, contracting and others.

Minister of Commerce and Investment Majed Al-Qasabi has said the ministry was making an in-depth study to put an end to the practice of tasattur including allowing the expatriates to practice trade openly against certain taxes. “The expats will no longer need to hide behind a Saudi to practice trade,” he was quoted as saying.

An official source at the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises said a study to combat tasattur was completed. He said the expatriates would be allowed to do commercial business without the need to do this in the name of a Saudi citizen.

He said there was complete coordination with the concerned authorities to issue the rules and regulations that would guarantee the rights of the investor whether being Saudi or non-Saudi. “The study will soon see the light,” he added.

According to market sources, about 200,000 cases of tasattur were discovered in the Kingdom over the years including 86,000 in the contracting and 84 in retail sectors. They said the ministry last year alone referred about 450 tasattur cases to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/expats-allowed-practice-trade/

Saudi Arabia offers 90-day amnesty to visa violators
Foreigners staying illegally in kingdom may leave without paying fines

Image Credit: SPA
Prince Mohammad launching the "Nation Free of Violators" campaign.

Published: 14:10 March 20, 2017
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Foreigners staying illegally in Saudi Arabia have been given three months to leave the kingdom without paying fines or facing legal measures.

The grace period will start on March 29, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef said as he announced the “Nation Free of Violators” campaign to help undocumented expatriates regularise their status.

All concerned agencies and departments were instructed by Prince Mohammad, who is also Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister, to ease the departure of all foreigners who wished to leave.

Mansoor Al Turki, the spokesperson for the interior ministry, told the media at a press conference on Sunday that any foreigner who was breaking the residency and work laws and regulations would be able to leave the kingdom without paying any fines or being subject to legal action.

The violator will also be able to return later to work legally in Saudi Arabia since he would not go through the fingerprinting process usually applied to deportees who would not be allowed back into the kingdom, he said.

“The Nation Free of Violators campaign targets foreigners who have no residency or work permits or have not renewed them as well as those who entered Saudi Arabia with Haj, Umrah, visit or transit visas and failed to leave before their expiry,” Al Turki said.

“Those who have broken the residency and work laws should first settle their personal rights and dues and then start the process of leaving through the websites of the labour ministry or the passport department. Those who have overstayed their Haj, Umrah, visit or transit visas do not have to contact any government agency or authority and may head to any exit point and leave the country.”

Foreigners who have absconded and have been reported as missing by their employers should contact the nearest expatriates’ department to complete the departure process, he added.

In 2013, then King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz gave a 90-day grace period to allow foreigners staying illegally in Saudi Arabia legalise their status or leave the Kingdom without any penalty or fine.

According to the General Authority for Statistics, more than 12 million of the 32 million people who live in Saudi Arabia are foreigners.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi...rs-90-day-amnesty-to-visa-violators-1.1997011

 

[Saif al-Arab]

I have a few ideas when it comes to expats in KSA.

1) Once the current unrealistic economic (no taxation, large government handouts, a public sector that is almost all-dominating, a mostly oil/gas based economy etc.) reality (in terms of long-term prospect) ceases to exist all expats born in KSA to parents born in KSA (whether Arab expats or non-Arab expats) should be given citizenship automatically and thus the exact same rights as citizens.

2) For this to occur those people must have integrated into the society by having learnt to read and write in Arabic and the fundamentals (loyalty, adherence to the laws of the country etc.) that every sane country demands of their new citizens/arrivals to fulfill if they want to have the exact same rights as local citizens.

3) Attract, in particular highly-educated Muslims due to the special status of KSA, who want to contribute to KSA (10.000's upon 10.000's of such people out there outside of KSA while we speak let alone inside) who want to become loyal citizens of KSA and contribute to the development of the country and its people.

4) Introduce a green card which after 6 years and a commitment of long-term stay in KSA, could automatically be upgraded to a citizenship if the conditions that I have mentioned earlier and other relevant ones are fulfilled.

5) Abolish many of the current rules (some truly moronic for all parties involved) in place and reform the economic policies fundamentally - a work in progress.

6) Of course mass-emigration should not be allowed and local natives should be given priority like in every country especially when it comes to necessary handouts, jobs etc. Nothing "racist" about this but pure logic.

Some of those issues have been mentioned in the Saudi Vision 2030 specifically while others have not.

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/saudi-govt-approves-vast-economic-reform-plan

Arabia has a very long history of integrating people from the region and from far away places so there is a history of very successful integration.

Obviously old nation states in an region as old as the Arab world cannot turn into the US but I am quite sure that none of those additions would result in that. However the more time passes the less I begin to care about peoples origin etc. It's not the most important thing or even a very important thing for the success of nation states or even regions. So why not give citizenship to an talented Egyptian brother or sister or a Pakistani brother or sister who could be potentially more productive than a local somewhere in Buraydah? Why not just because he/she happens to be born across the Red Sea or across the Arabian Sea? Immigration/globalization has come to stay and Arabia is no stranger to that in fact our part of the world was the first inhabited area of the planet outside of Eastern Africa where humanity itself originated from and as I wrote, we have absorbed many people throughout the millennia as has almost every single region of the world, really.

The answer here is moderation and giving opportunities to people that are either most in need or who can contribute the most. So in a sense it will not be "fair" but no migration is that anywhere at the end of the day. Nation states are all selfish and KSA should not shot itself in the foot but take advantage of what has been given to her and a lot has been given to her.

As for illegal migrants, that's for another discussion and something that must be solved regardless of their nationalities.

@azzo @Kuwaiti Girl @HannibalBarca @The SC opinions?

 

[Magi Brahmin]

[QUOTE="Saif al-Arab, post: 9310238, member: 167ve a few ideas when it comes to expats in KSA.

1) Once the current unrealistic economic (no taxation, large government handouts, a public sector that is almost all-dominating, a mostly oil/gas based economy etc.) reality (in terms of long-term prospect) ceases to exist all expats born in KSA to parents born in KSA (whether Arab expats or non-Arab expats) should be given citizenship automatically and thus the exact same rights as citizens.

2) For this to occur those people must have integrated into the society by having learnt to read and write in Arabic and the fundamentals (loyalty, adherence to the laws of the country etc.) that every sane country demands of their new citizens/arrivals to fulfill if they want to have the exact same rights as local citizens.

3) Attract, in particular highly-educated Muslims due to the special status of KSA, who want to contribute to KSA (10.000's upon 10.000's of such people out there outside of KSA while we speak let alone inside) who want to become loyal citizens of KSA and contribute to the development of the country and its people.

4) Introduce a green card which after 6 years and a commitment of long-term stay in KSA, could automatically be upgraded to a citizenship if the conditions that I have mentioned earlier and other relevant ones are fulfilled.

5) Abolish many of the current rules (some truly moronic for all parties involved) in place fundamentally and reform the economic policies - a work in progress.

Some of those issues have been mentioned in the Saudi Vision 2030 specifically while others have not.

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/saudi-govt-approves-vast-economic-reform-plan

Arabia has a very long history of integrating people from the region and from far away places so there is a history of very successful integration.

Obviously old nation states in an region as old as the Arab world cannot turn into the US but I am quite sure that none of those additions would result in that. However the more time passes the less I begin to care about peoples origin etc. It's not the most important thing or even a very important thing for the success of nation states or even regions. So why not give citizenship to an talented Egyptian brother or sister or a Pakistani brother or sister who could be potentially more productive than a local somewhere in Buraydah? Why not just because he/she happens to be born across the Red Sea or across the Arabian Sea? Immigration/globalization has come to stay and Arabia is no stranger to that in fact our part of the world was the first inhabited area of the planet outside of Eastern Arabia where humanity itself originated from and as I wrote, we have absorbed many people throughout the millennia as has almost every single region of the world, really.

The answer here is moderation and given the opportunities to people that are either most in need or who can contribute the most. So in a sense it will not be "fair" but no migration is that anywhere at the end of the day. Nation states are all selfish and KSA should not shot itself in the foot but take advantage of what has been given to her and a lot has been given to her.

As for illegal migrants, that's for another discussion and something that must be solved regardless of their nationalities.

@azzo @Kuwaiti Girl @HannibalBarca @The SC opinions?[/QUOTE]
I have one Question for you, can i as an indian Businessman invest in oil sector of your country ?
@Saif al-Arab

 

[azzo]

I have a few ideas when it comes to expats in KSA.

1) Once the current unrealistic economic (no taxation, large government handouts, a public sector that is almost all-dominating, a mostly oil/gas based economy etc.) reality (in terms of long-term prospect) ceases to exist all expats born in KSA to parents born in KSA (whether Arab expats or non-Arab expats) should be given citizenship automatically and thus the exact same rights as citizens.

2) For this to occur those people must have integrated into the society by having learnt to read and write in Arabic and the fundamentals (loyalty, adherence to the laws of the country etc.) that every sane country demands of their new citizens/arrivals to fulfill if they want to have the exact same rights as local citizens.

3) Attract, in particular highly-educated Muslims due to the special status of KSA, who want to contribute to KSA (10.000's upon 10.000's of such people out there outside of KSA while we speak let alone inside) who want to become loyal citizens of KSA and contribute to the development of the country and its people.

4) Introduce a green card which after 6 years and a commitment of long-term stay in KSA, could automatically be upgraded to a citizenship if the conditions that I have mentioned earlier and other relevant ones are fulfilled.

5) Abolish many of the current rules (some truly moronic for all parties involved) in place fundamentally and reform the economic policies - a work in progress.

Some of those issues have been mentioned in the Saudi Vision 2030 specifically while others have not.

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/saudi-govt-approves-vast-economic-reform-plan

Arabia has a very long history of integrating people from the region and from far away places so there is a history of very successful integration.

Obviously old nation states in an region as old as the Arab world cannot turn into the US but I am quite sure that none of those additions would result in that. However the more time passes the less I begin to care about peoples origin etc. It's not the most important thing or even a very important thing for the success of nation states or even regions. So why not give citizenship to an talented Egyptian brother or sister or a Pakistani brother or sister who could be potentially more productive than a local somewhere in Buraydah? Why not just because he/she happens to be born across the Red Sea or across the Arabian Sea? Immigration/globalization has come to stay and Arabia is no stranger to that in fact our part of the world was the first inhabited area of the planet outside of Eastern Arabia where humanity itself originated from and as I wrote, we have absorbed many people throughout the millennia as has almost every single region of the world, really.

The answer here is moderation and given the opportunities to people that are either most in need or who can contribute the most. So in a sense it will not be "fair" but no migration is that anywhere at the end of the day. Nation states are all selfish and KSA should not shot itself in the foot but take advantage of what has been given to her and a lot has been given to her.

As for illegal migrants, that's for another discussion and something that must be solved regardless of their nationalities.

@azzo @Kuwaiti Girl @HannibalBarca @The SC opinions?

I believe Saudi Arabia, with its current demographic makeup, as it stands now with it being targeted by everyone, it can't afford to mess with its demographic and invite a foreign element into its midst, as it will provide a seed that can be utilized later (in 20 or 50 years who knows) to destabilize the country or start something bad or be used as a pressuring card. You see how the countries around us are being pressured into accepting resolutions (Turkey, Ukrain, Iran..etc) due to their demographics problems.

I see the solution to be a 5~10 year renewable Iqama with no Kafil and no expat taxes, that will practically have the same privileges as the Saudi citizenship like Investment and ownership, but none of the governmental benefits such as Housing, govt loans, Hafiz, subsidies, saudization..etc etc as they will not need them since they will be the type to benefit from the market and supporting the economy (blue collar workers, entrapment, small business owners..etc)

 

[Magi Brahmin]

Race mix is bad idea IMO. Each race is unique and we must preserve our Racial Purity for the sake of our Identity.

Saudi Arabia for Arabs
Iran for Iranics
India for Indics
N.Europe for Nordics
S. Europe for Meds
South India for drividians.

 

[The SC]

I have a few ideas when it comes to expats in KSA.

1) Once the current unrealistic economic (no taxation, large government handouts, a public sector that is almost all-dominating, a mostly oil/gas based economy etc.) reality (in terms of long-term prospect) ceases to exist all expats born in KSA to parents born in KSA (whether Arab expats or non-Arab expats) should be given citizenship automatically and thus the exact same rights as citizens.

2) For this to occur those people must have integrated into the society by having learnt to read and write in Arabic and the fundamentals (loyalty, adherence to the laws of the country etc.) that every sane country demands of their new citizens/arrivals to fulfill if they want to have the exact same rights as local citizens.

3) Attract, in particular highly-educated Muslims due to the special status of KSA, who want to contribute to KSA (10.000's upon 10.000's of such people out there outside of KSA while we speak let alone inside) who want to become loyal citizens of KSA and contribute to the development of the country and its people.

4) Introduce a green card which after 6 years and a commitment of long-term stay in KSA, could automatically be upgraded to a citizenship if the conditions that I have mentioned earlier and other relevant ones are fulfilled.

5) Abolish many of the current rules (some truly moronic for all parties involved) in place fundamentally and reform the economic policies - a work in progress.

Some of those issues have been mentioned in the Saudi Vision 2030 specifically while others have not.

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/saudi-govt-approves-vast-economic-reform-plan

Arabia has a very long history of integrating people from the region and from far away places so there is a history of very successful integration.

Obviously old nation states in an region as old as the Arab world cannot turn into the US but I am quite sure that none of those additions would result in that. However the more time passes the less I begin to care about peoples origin etc. It's not the most important thing or even a very important thing for the success of nation states or even regions. So why not give citizenship to an talented Egyptian brother or sister or a Pakistani brother or sister who could be potentially more productive than a local somewhere in Buraydah? Why not just because he/she happens to be born across the Red Sea or across the Arabian Sea? Immigration/globalization has come to stay and Arabia is no stranger to that in fact our part of the world was the first inhabited area of the planet outside of Eastern Africa where humanity itself originated from and as I wrote, we have absorbed many people throughout the millennia as has almost every single region of the world, really.

The answer here is moderation and giving opportunities to people that are either most in need or who can contribute the most. So in a sense it will not be "fair" but no migration is that anywhere at the end of the day. Nation states are all selfish and KSA should not shot itself in the foot but take advantage of what has been given to her and a lot has been given to her.

As for illegal migrants, that's for another discussion and something that must be solved regardless of their nationalities.

@azzo @Kuwaiti Girl @HannibalBarca @The SC opinions?

Those are very modern concepts for citizenship, I agree to them.. as for attracting Muslim brains to KSA, there is a huge pool of Doctors, Engineers, researchers, professors...etc living and working in the West as well as in Muslim countries that can be attracted by a good standard of living and more so by the prospects of citizenship..

 

[Saif al-Arab]

I believe Saudi Arabia, with its current demographic makeup, as it stands now with it being targeted by everyone, it can't afford to mess with its demographic and invite a foreign element into its midst, as it will provide a seed that can be utilized later (in 20 or 50 years who knows) to destabilize the country or start something bad or be used as a pressuring card. You see how the countries around us are being pressured into accepting resolutions (Turkey, Ukrain, Iran..etc) due to their demographics problems.

I see the solution to be a 5~10 year renewable Iqama with no Kafil and no expat taxes, that will practically have the same privileges as the Saudi citizenship like Investment and ownership, but none of the governmental benefits such as Housing, govt loans, Hafiz, subsidies, saudization..etc etc as they will not need them since they will be the type to benefit from the market and supporting the economy (blue collar workers, entrapment, small business owners..etc)

I would not worry about demographics. There are around 25 million natives nowadays and that number is expected to rise significantly in the next few decades. Moreover 90-95% of all inhabitants in Arabia (GCC + Yemen) are ethnic Arabs so we won't ever face what those countries that you have mentioned face or will face in the future. In fact minorities are not a problem anywhere in the Arab world outside of the Kurds of Iraq and Syria.

My proposal is mostly aimed at useful expats who have a long connection with KSA. Millions of such people are fellow Arabs who were born and have lived in KSA for 2 generations sometimes even 3 generations.

Also they would obviously become assimiliated much like all of our current "minorities" (people originally not from KSA or the Arab world - nowadays almost all of them have mixed with locals) have become.

Many of those people as I wrote are more loyal to KSA and also more useful than for instance many of the inhabitants of Al-Awamiyah. Obviously such policies must be tested in detail and thought over.

I just don't think it makes any sense for second generation "Saudi Arabians" (non-citizens) or third generation people (many of them fellow Arabs) to be potentially sent back to countries that they don't have any ties to other than ancestral ties and to send people away when they are loyal people, want to become citizens, no history of hostile acts and serve the country. It really does not make any sense.

One of the few things that we lack (currently - thankfully not in the nearby future) is a bigger population. Such policies could also contribute to the current positive development in that regard.

Those are very modern concepts for citizenship, I agree to them.. as for attracting Muslim brains to KSA, there is a huge pool of Doctors, Engineers, researchers, professors...etc living and working in the West as well as in Muslim countries that can be attracted by a good standard of living and more so by the prospects of citizenship..

Exactly.