The Saudi Arabia has recently introduced a new residency system, that allows foreigners to remain in the kingdom, without the need of a local grantor. The Saudi Arabia considers this system as the first step towards the "reforming" of the sponsorship system, at present. However, it was introduced by the media as just a new system that would replace the “grantors” system.
The experts stated that the new reforms are meant, in fact, for the wealthy investors and foreign businessmen, in order to benefit from the big capitals, as well as to promote the real estate sector and foreign investment. The press reports confirm that the annual fees for this system will be set at 100 000 riyals (26 600 US dollars), while 800 000 Saudi riyals (213 280 US dollars) will be set for the permanent residence. However, still these fees have not been officially announced.
It is noteworthy that the Saudi Shura Council passed a draft law allowing the non-Saudis to obtain a self-guarantee for their residence permit. This system, which is referred to as " Special Residency ", will grant the permit holders a temporary or permanent renewable residence.
The “Special Residency" system grants the residents many other advantages, including the obtention of residence permits for their families, the issuing of visas for their relatives, the hiring of workers, owning property and their free entry and exit from the Saudi Arabia.
These policies are part of the modern global pattern of the asymmetric immigration policy, where the wealthy migrants are able to stay and move freely, while the poor encounter restrictions on their movements.
These legislations contradict with the idea of the local investing of money, as many foreign families in Saudi Arabia can no longer afford the housing, schools, and transportation expenses. Thus, they ended up by returning their families to their mother countries, who have been receiving an important amount of their salaries.
Since the announcement of the approval of the new Saudi legislation, there has been a rash of inaccurate headlines describing the Saudi initiative as an end to the sponsorship system in the kingdom. Some media institutions continued to publish inaccurate analyses confirming these gossips, despite the little change contributed by these reforms to the migrants' rights and freedom of movement.
Although that it is not clear whether this media coverage is the result of the lack of understanding of the sponsoring system or of a perception and knowledge of the public relations policy, it is very clear that the implementation of the self-sponsoring by just few people does not mean that the oppressing sponsorship system has been abounded by the majority of the migrant workers in the Gulf .
#Saudi_Arabia #Special_Residency #sponsorship_system
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