Riyadh:
Indians planning to use for a piece visa for Saudi Arabia will now be required to endure pre-verification of their skilled and academic {qualifications}. The Saudi mission in India in a round mentioned skilled verification procedures for issuing work visas will probably be carried out from January 14.
“The skilled verification will grow to be one of many necessary necessities for issuing work visas,” the round learn, based on a report by The New Indian Specific.
The transfer mandating the pre-verification requirement was proposed six months in the past as a method to regulate the variety of incoming Indian employees, given the restricted capability of certified coaching centres within the nation, and to take care of high quality requirements.
It’s aimed toward facilitating smoother entry to Saudi Arabia’s labour market and bettering employee retention charges. It additionally expects to streamline the recruitment course of and improve the standard of the workforce within the kingdom.
Underneath the brand new guidelines, institution homeowners and HR departments are being inspired to confirm the certificates and data supplied by expatriate staff.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia has additionally up to date the principles for expatriates regarding exit and re-entry visa extensions and the renewal of Iqamas (residency permits).
The Normal Directorate of Passports in Saudi Arabia introduced on X (previously Twitter) that expatriates, together with these at the moment outdoors the dominion, can now renew their Iqamas.
Indian In Saudi Arabia
Based on the Ministry of Exterior Affairs, Indians are the second-largest expatriate neighborhood in Saudi Arabia, after Bangladesh, which leads the tally with 2.69 million expat employees.
As of 2024, over 2.4 million Indian employees reportedly reside in Saudi Arabia, together with 1.64 million within the personal sector and 785,000 in home work.
Indian employees are an important a part of Saudi Arabia’s labour market. Nevertheless, there may be widespread criticism that there usually are not sufficient take a look at centres the place candidates can get verified.
“For example, take a look at centres for automotive drivers are positioned in Ajmer and Sikar in Rajasthan. Candidates, particularly these from the South, are compelled to journey lengthy distances to those places, going through each linguistic and logistical points,” TNIE report quoted Haris Beeran, a member of Rajya Sabha, as saying.
Furthermore, beneath its 2030 imaginative and prescient, the dominion goals to extend recruitment requirements and entice expert expatriate expertise, which might elevate recruitment requirements.