Dokument #1128456
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Nationals from North Yemen are exempted
from the requirement of obtaining the sponsorship of a Saudi
national, which all other foreigners need to allow them to work and
live in Saudi Arabia. [ Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Department of State,
1989), p.1489.]
There are over 250,000 resident foreigners
who reportedly fled from countries, notably Palestinians, Afghans,
Eritreans, Somalis, South Yemenis and Lebanese in Saudi Arabia.
[Ibid.] These groups do not receive any special treatment or
privileges, but may remain in Saudi Arabia if they can get a native
sponsor and find work. Another source reports that in 1985, the
total expatriate population in Saudi Arabia, based on the number of
residence permits required, was estimated at approximately
3,522,700. [The Middle East and North Africa 1989,
Thirty-Fifth Edition, (London: Europa Publications Ltd., 1989),
p.720.]
Saudi Arabian regulations do not have
provisions for tourist visas, and consequently those wishing to
travel to the country must either produce a letter of invitation
from an employer or a Saudi sponsor, before a visa will be issued.
[Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 1989,
vol.2. (Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1989), p.1081.] The Saudi
sponsor is responsible for holding the passport, granting
permission for travel out of the city of employment or abroad, for
change of employment possibilities and, for obtaining exit visas
for the foreigner being sponsored. [Ibid.]
The U.S. State Department's Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices mentions that occasionally,
individual Saudis (frequently members of the ruling family)
permanently sponsor individual refugees or displaced persons, to
enable them to remain in Saudi Arabia and find work where they may.
[DOS 1988, p.1489.] However, the same report states that "in some
cases, foreigners who have worked in Saudi Arabia for many decades
and who may have no country to which they may return, find
themselves required to leave the country immediately if demanded by
their employers or upon retirement". [ U.S. State Department,
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989,
Washington: U.S. Government Printers, February 1990, p.1560.]
Attached please find excerpts from the
following documents:
The Middle East and North Africa 1989, Thirty-Fifth Edition,
London: Europa Publications Ltd., 1989, pp.720,723.
Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 1989,
vol.2. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1989, p.1081.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989,
Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1989, pp. 1554-1560.