Non Issuance of Iqama

Hi Dadmanny,
1st Q. if your together with your son here in jeddah, cause if you do you can help your son facing his consequences not unless your son can deal things like this maturely or at least he can speak arabic.
2nd Q. is youR son working already? if not thE sponsorE has right to give him salary with or without work. This is sponsore responsibility.

yes without Iqama your sons cannot do anything unless the sponsore gave him a temporary Iqama which is good for 3 months only and it will continue renewing till he get his Iqama.
even for release will be impossible.check the contract of your son if his sponsore has failure to follow this you have rights.

Dear Emman Lopez,

Thanks for the fast reply.

1. Yes my son is staying with me. I will support him all the way.

2. The sponsor has not given him work and salary yet. He is on standby. But the main concern is the Iqama. Is it possibly for him to work for other employer temporarily while waiting for his sponsor to give him work? Can he apply for work with other employer even w/out Iqama? Can he ask the sponsor a letter allowing my son to work for another employer?

3. Can the sponsor issue temporary Iqama by himself or thru Jawasat? Is this temporary Iqama the copy of my son's passport stamped by the sponsor?

I truly appreciate your reply.
Thanks and regards

1) good thing his with you.
2) you can ask for release since his sponsore is not doing his duty to his employee i believe this was in the contract wether he send back home or giving him a release. But if you still  holding your passport you can work to another company with ofcourse the sponsore consent, everything must be in legal ways.
3) yes the temporary iqama is your sons passport copy with stamped and sign by his sponsore. Do you still have the passport or he surrender already? it will be a releif if you still have his passport.
Anyway mine is just a remedy you can still approach the embassy for more support and ideas on handling this situation. welcome.

Hi Emman,

Thanks for keeping up in this forum giving your valuable time & efforts to advise us for free. Here's my reply on your last message:

2)The contract mentions that the sponsor shall bear the cost of the Iqama. However, the contract does not mention that if the sponsor cannot issue an Iqama, he should issue a release or send my son back home. 

3) My son's passport is in the custody of the sponsor. Of course my son turned over his passport to the sponsor to apply for Iqama. But almost 6 months lapsed and there's still no Iqama. Two other recruits came to KSA in 2010, but still no iqama from the same sponsor. What do you think, shall we ask the sponsor to return to my son his passport?  Can he not reason out later that the Iqama is not issued because he does not have my son's passport?

Sincerely,
DADMANNY

that's ok i can manage even I'm at work.
2) yes, but still cannot do his duty as an employer of your son. enough reason to leave his sponsore, wether he return back home or release him the desicion is with the employer if the employer has a bad personality but it seems he has because he wouldn't be if he is not blacklisted.
3)this 2 other guy are they also not working?(2yrs) obviously your son will suffer the same consequences as the other. better to visit the embassy ask for assistance and bigger chances to win this situation. You can ask the 2 guy to help you for moral support and it will help them too at the same time. If they are willing.goodluck.

No offense @Emman_Lopez. But legal matters are sensitive and advice must be delivered with all due diligence.

@DADMANNY,

1-  Check out the visa on your son's passport. If it say validity: 3 months. Sorry, he is illegal now. As per the saudi labor law, he must be immediately deported with a heavy penalty applied. And they don't care whose fault is it. Don't expect cordialness there.

Don't tell them that YOU paid all expenses. That was illegal move and will spoil your standing in front of law.

2- As per Saudi law, working for somone else than the sponsor is considered a severe violation. Sponsor's consent does NOT change the law and really doesn't mean ANYTHING.

Check out the list of penalities here. This must give you an idea how things work here.

3- There is nothing called temporary iqama. If in case you have to present the stamped passport copy, it's the choice of the authority to accept it or trash it down.

4- Don't ask the other 2 persons to come along to help you. Jawazat can deport all 3 as this is what law advises. And don't over-expect, usually no one will listen to the story.

You must try to avoid deportation, as it will cause you loss of whatever you spent. Your best bet must be to visit your embassy and discuss with them their opinion about taking the matter to the Labor Court. You may have to talk to a lawyer also as your son (being non-iqama holder) can't file a case/complaint against the sponsor.

TheLegendLeads wrote:

No offense @Emman_Lopez. But legal matters are sensitive and advice must be delivered with all due diligence.

@DADMANNY,

1-  Check out the visa on your son's passport. If it say validity: 3 months. Sorry, he is illegal now. As per the saudi labor law, he must be immediately deported with a heavy penalty applied. And they don't care whose fault is it. Don't expect cordialness there.

Don't tell them that YOU paid all expenses. That was illegal move and will spoil your standing in front of law.

2- As per Saudi law, working for somone else than the sponsor is considered a severe violation. Sponsor's consent does NOT change the law and really doesn't mean ANYTHING.

Check out the list of penalities here. This must give you an idea how things work here.

3- There is nothing called temporary iqama. If in case you have to present the stamped passport copy, it's the choice of the authority to accept it or trash it down.

4- Don't ask the other 2 persons to come along to help you. Jawazat can deport all 3 as this is what law advises. And don't over-expect, usually no one will listen to the story.

You must try to avoid deportation, as it will cause you loss of whatever you spent. Your best bet must be to visit your embassy and discuss with them their opinion about taking the matter to the Labor Court. You may have to talk to a lawyer also as your son (being non-iqama holder) can't file a case/complaint against the sponsor.

no harm done, mine is just an opinion.
But as what I'm saying the best way to do is to approach the embassy not to file a report against the employer or what but to ask an advice. I'm sure embassy will not let them down.

The LegendLeads & Emman Lopez,

I truly appreciate your assistance. My son's case is really worrisome to both of us because of the prolonged agony of waiting for something that might not come. I mean the Iqama for my son. Hence we're preparing for the worst even to the extent of deportation. But I guess we can't give up without a fair fight. It's really sad the my son's status is illegal now through no fault of his. His passport had 90 days validity and it had expired  long ago. We have been reminding the sponsor time and time again to process the Iqama but to no avail. What we got are broken promises for 6 months now. Your advice is very sensible and will surely consider going to Labor Office and/or asking of Legal assistance.

Yesterday I received a comfort from our Saudi colleague who works as our Jawasat laison officer who advised that my son is not at fault and is not illegal. He had no control over Iqama issuance. He was very certain when he advised me to find a new willing employer to recruit my son, who would write a so called demand letter to his erring sponsor asking for consent to release the sponsorship. After the consent is obtained, we case file petition to Labor Office for change of sponsorship. I wish that this is the most viable solution. But you are right, its best to discuss this matter first to the embassy and to the legal counsel.  I really appreciate your advice. Thanks

By the way, I check the list of 34 violations and ironically, I believe that government is silent on this issue - the expiry of working visa's 90-day validity period without Iqama.

Sincerely,
DADMANNY

GOOD LUCK!! to both of you have high hopes.....Inshallah everything will be fine.

DADMANNY wrote:

Yesterday I received a comfort from our Saudi colleague who works as our Jawasat laison officer who advised that my son is not at fault and is not illegal. He had no control over Iqama issuance. He was very certain when he advised me to find a new willing employer to recruit my son, who would write a so called demand letter to his erring sponsor asking for consent to release the sponsorship. After the consent is obtained, we case file petition to Labor Office for change of sponsorship. I wish that this is the most viable solution. But you are right, its best to discuss this matter first to the embassy and to the legal counsel.  I really appreciate your advice. Thanks

Relief. Couldn't be better!
All the best and our wishes that the matter resolves very fast. It was really a horrible situation.

Hello ALL.
I'm from India. I came on Saudi Work Visa (Computer Programmer)given by my sponsor who purchased IQAMA from another sponsor. After coming here it has been 7 months still i did not get my IQAMA because sponsor in RED Category. Now i want to exit the country on final exit (Kuruj Al Nihai). But the sponsor/mandoop is facing difficulties in getting final exit and telling many reasons and delaying.
I have an emergency and i need to leave out of saudi arabia. Please help me...what are all the ways and procedures...

dear all

im an IT engineer,interested to come to saudi arabia on azad visa, my cousins live in jeddah from almost 10 years..they know a good kafil/sponsor who can give me azaad visa.the visa category will e electrician .
can anyone suggest me what difficulties might come across when i reach over there.
as far as iqama is concerned my cousin is sure that iqama will be ready in one month upon arrival.

please suggest me and provide me the link where i can check the category of visa and rules .i've been to embassy site but its arabic i cant understand.
plz help

jazakallah.

DADMANNY wrote:

Hi,

My brother obtained a working visa and arrived here in Jeddah in March 2012.  However, until now his sponsor is unable to issue him an Iqama. We learned from a very reliable source that the sponsor is "blacklisted" with Jawasat for non-payment of due obligations to a financing company. I'm not sure if blacklisted is the correct term but apparently the sponsor is unable to do the usual Iqama procedures until the listing is lifted. We save seen in Jawasat website that the sponsor had other Iqama non-issuance problems for recruits who arrived as early as 2010. Hence this has been a long recurring problem. I appreciate reply on the following queries?

1. Is my son still in legal status despite almost 6 months of having no Iqama?
2. Is there a way to request release of sponsorship so we can look for another sponsor of better repute? Afterall the sponsor did not spend anything in this recruitment. My son paid for everything.
3. If number 2 is not possible, what is the best option? You know that without Iqama, my son can practically do nothing.

Your assitance is highly appreciated.

Sincerely,

DADMANNY

Hello, Sir I have the same situation with your Son I am working in a restaurant here in jeddah, since november 2011, when i arrived in KSA until now i haven't yet have an iqama some of my co-worker has their own actually now our employer renew their own, but why we the three didnt give our iqama, may i know what action should i do about my case? november this year my contract will finish i am afraid that after my contract, If other company give me an offer to work with them, maybe i cannot come back in saudi.

mhondet wrote:

Hello, Sir I have the same situation with your Son I am working in a restaurant here in jeddah, since november 2011, when i arrived in KSA until now i haven't yet have an iqama some of my co-worker has their own actually now our employer renew their own, but why we the three didnt give our iqama, may i know what action should i do about my case? november this year my contract will finish i am afraid that after my contract, If other company give me an offer to work with them, maybe i cannot come back in saudi.

If you dont have iqama your legal status is illegalin front of law and you will be deported if you dont get iqama soon. You could still try with your sponsor to get the iqama done or find a new sponsor and then get a demand letter from him and take this to the labor office. You will be able to transfer your sponsorship to the new sponsor.

thank you sir, This is useful tips from you... i will do my best to talk with my sponsor about my case inshallah this problem will done before my contract ends.

mhondet wrote:

thank you sir, This is useful tips from you... i will do my best to talk with my sponsor about my case inshallah this problem will done before my contract ends.

Hope for the best and good luck to you.

Sir,
My name is dharvish usman,indian nationality,
.its being 4 months iam at saudi arabia,riyadh.i came as a bio medical technician bt due to some problam company didnt get tha contract.and they are not paying salery as per my contract and still not make my iqama.i'm facing a big soblam,please tell me a way to sort out the problam

Dharvish wrote:

Sir,
My name is dharvish usman,indian nationality,
.its being 4 months iam at saudi arabia,riyadh.i came as a bio medical technician bt due to some problam company didnt get tha contract.and they are not paying salery as per my contract and still not make my iqama.i'm facing a big soblam,please tell me a way to sort out the problam

Dear Dharvish,

Sorry to hear about your problem.  The best option is to leave this employer as soon as possible , ask him to give you final exit there is no point in working under such circumstances. But then again I am not sure about the conditions under which you have arrived here, so try for an amicable solution with your sponsor. Try to speak to them about your iqama and pay and try to involve some other employees in your case as well in the first phase. If that does not work, contact some social organizations and try with them to try and reason with the sponsor and still if it does not work approach the labor court and ask for a release from the sponsor to Jawazat or Maktab Al Amal directly. In the mean time try to find another job as well so that by the time you are ready to move to Jawazat / Maktab Al Amal you can move to a different sponsor as well.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Sir,
Iam sure that they wont give relese or any think,and still they are treatining me,if i finaly apporach the labour court ,how long it will take to get a result, and did labour court have right to issue final exit ? Sir if i make a complaint in police what is the opinion on this .or sir please tell me a ammicable way how to settle this

Dharvish wrote:

Sir,
Iam sure that they wont give relese or any think,and still they are treatining me,if i finaly apporach the labour court ,how long it will take to get a result, and did labour court have right to issue final exit ? Sir if i make a complaint in police what is the opinion on this .or sir please tell me a ammicable way how to settle this

No employer has the right legally to detain you in the kingdom if you want to leave. So to settle this amicably speak to them first, try to involve some other collegues or some social organizations.

If still it doesnt work then approach the labor court first and not the police. The court will appoint police at a later stage if needed. Labor court will decide the best option for you and if your wish is to leave on final exit, they will surely give it to you.

Asalamu alikum
My name is dharvish usman,indian nationality .sir itz being 5 month at ksa,i came in a agreement for 2 year,as a bio medical technacian and my salery is 1500.but on da behalf of 5 months i didnt get my job,my iqama ,no accomadation and the promised salery,as per your advice i ask them to give me exit but company are asking me 10000 sr still,so i told them i will go to labour court and embessy so they are tretaning me by saying i will kill you or by making fake case will caught by police.i dnt have iqama .wot should i do,i want to go back to india ,any way? Sir kindly help me to get out of this problam,there is no one here me for help,kindly give me some suitable tips.

Dharvish wrote:

Asalamu alikum
My name is dharvish usman,indian nationality .sir itz being 5 month at ksa,i came in a agreement for 2 year,as a bio medical technacian and my salery is 1500.but on da behalf of 5 months i didnt get my job,my iqama ,no accomadation and the promised salery,as per your advice i ask them to give me exit but company are asking me 10000 sr still,so i told them i will go to labour court and embessy so they are tretaning me by saying i will kill you or by making fake case will caught by police.i dnt have iqama .wot should i do,i want to go back to india ,any way? Sir kindly help me to get out of this problam,there is no one here me for help,kindly give me some suitable tips.

Your choices are limited and you have to stick with the plan. They can threaten you now and but your priority is to get home. You need to get in touch with some Indian social organizations like Keli, RIFA etc and speak to them to support you. At the same time approach labor office with all proof that you have - non - salary payment, non issuance of iqama, no accommodation and that they are asking money and threatening you as well by making fake case against you.

Nowadays the labor court or the system is trying to expel expatriates and if you approach them I am sure they will expedite your case.

Sir,my company still not make my iqama,itz time is high,bt when i check my cmpny status itz was green before but when i check now itz shows low green ,so what is this means ?wot should i do nw ?

did my company able to make mah iqama on this status,or what will be the problam after wards ?

Dharvish wrote:

Sir,my company still not make my iqama,itz time is high,bt when i check my cmpny status itz was green before but when i check now itz shows low green ,so what is this means ?wot should i do nw ?

What happened to the final exit issue you were asking earlier or have you decided to stick around.

Probably the reason of the delay of your iqama is evident in your question itself - since the company is now low in nitaqat status and if they issue your iqama they might end up in yellow / red. Hence the delay.

You need to be firm and stand your ground, no iqama and with recent ministry decision to start checking all companies will put in automatic deportation - then again I guess that will serve your purpose of getting final exit.

Hi HRGuru, I would like to know whether its possible to make New Iqama in yellow category or not OR Need the sponsor to move in Green category/Low Green for New Iqama?

Please let me know, Thanks in Advance. Jazak allah khair!

IamAlien wrote:

Hi HRGuru, I would like to know whether its possible to make New Iqama in yellow category or not OR Need the sponsor to move in Green category/Low Green for New Iqama?

Please let me know, Thanks in Advance. Jazak allah khair!

Sponsor needs to be in green. If he is in yellow limited services available for him and if in red all services to him will be suspended. So he needs to be in green in order to issue iqama for you.

Hi HRGuru, Thanks for the info.

You are welcome.

As salamualaykum.
I have been working in Al Baha for the past six months until now they havent issued my iqama.  have now decided to resign since they only give false hopes about the iqama issuance.
I also found out that we are on the yellow zone so I really wish t transfer or exit and come back with a new sponsor.
I have locked myself in my room because I know I am illegal and technically I cannot work and they havent given my salary for march and april to make matters worst. i have contacted my agency and they said that they can assist me with this.
But my question is is it true that I cannot get a final exit without acquiring an iqama first?
and what is the worst thing my sponsor can do to me?
By the way im a filipina dentist.
WHat is the best move I can do to protect myself? and have the final exit that will allow me to come back here in KSA with a new sponsor. And btw, i have a demand letter from another sponsor already i just dont know what first steps I should make.

aminahanjela wrote:

As salamualaykum.
I have been working in Al Baha for the past six months until now they havent issued my iqama.  have now decided to resign since they only give false hopes about the iqama issuance.
I also found out that we are on the yellow zone so I really wish t transfer or exit and come back with a new sponsor.
I have locked myself in my room because I know I am illegal and technically I cannot work and they havent given my salary for march and april to make matters worst. i have contacted my agency and they said that they can assist me with this.
But my question is is it true that I cannot get a final exit without acquiring an iqama first?
and what is the worst thing my sponsor can do to me?
By the way im a filipina dentist.
WHat is the best move I can do to protect myself? and have the final exit that will allow me to come back here in KSA with a new sponsor. And btw, i have a demand letter from another sponsor already i just dont know what first steps I should make.

You need to contact the Philippines embassy first, not the agency. They can assist a lot for you. If you have a sponsor ready to get you, then what you need to do is approach the labor office with your case and inform them about the non issuance of iqama, delay in salary. You said you were a dentist - did you do the MOH test to practice here in KSA, you need to show that your side is clear before you approach the labor office or govt authorities.

Other option is to hope that your employer will give you final exit, no need to get iqama issued they can give final exit and also at the same time block you from entering KSA again. Its good to leave / part ways amicably.

when you say block from KSA...meaning work in KSA or can i come in with a family visa?

HRGuru wrote:

aminahanjela wrote:

As salamualaykum.
I have been working in Al Baha for the past six months until now they havent issued my iqama.  have now decided to resign since they only give false hopes about the iqama issuance.
I also found out that we are on the yellow zone so I really wish t transfer or exit and come back with a new sponsor.
I have locked myself in my room because I know I am illegal and technically I cannot work and they havent given my salary for march and april to make matters worst. i have contacted my agency and they said that they can assist me with this.
But my question is is it true that I cannot get a final exit without acquiring an iqama first?
and what is the worst thing my sponsor can do to me?
By the way im a filipina dentist.
WHat is the best move I can do to protect myself? and have the final exit that will allow me to come back here in KSA with a new sponsor. And btw, i have a demand letter from another sponsor already i just dont know what first steps I should make.

You need to contact the Philippines embassy first, not the agency. They can assist a lot for you. If you have a sponsor ready to get you, then what you need to do is approach the labor office with your case and inform them about the non issuance of iqama, delay in salary. You said you were a dentist - did you do the MOH test to practice here in KSA, you need to show that your side is clear before you approach the labor office or govt authorities.

Other option is to hope that your employer will give you final exit, no need to get iqama issued they can give final exit and also at the same time block you from entering KSA again. Its good to leave / part ways amicably.

I haven't got an iqama so I couldnt take the govt exams or maybe my company hasn't facilitated that for me. WHen you say blocked from KSA ould that mean not being able to return to ksa at all to work or can i come under my husband's visa as wife and not work.

aminahanjela wrote:

HRGuru wrote:

aminahanjela wrote:

As salamualaykum.
I have been working in Al Baha for the past six months until now they havent issued my iqama.  have now decided to resign since they only give false hopes about the iqama issuance.
I also found out that we are on the yellow zone so I really wish t transfer or exit and come back with a new sponsor.
I have locked myself in my room because I know I am illegal and technically I cannot work and they havent given my salary for march and april to make matters worst. i have contacted my agency and they said that they can assist me with this.
But my question is is it true that I cannot get a final exit without acquiring an iqama first?
and what is the worst thing my sponsor can do to me?
By the way im a filipina dentist.
WHat is the best move I can do to protect myself? and have the final exit that will allow me to come back here in KSA with a new sponsor. And btw, i have a demand letter from another sponsor already i just dont know what first steps I should make.

You need to contact the Philippines embassy first, not the agency. They can assist a lot for you. If you have a sponsor ready to get you, then what you need to do is approach the labor office with your case and inform them about the non issuance of iqama, delay in salary. You said you were a dentist - did you do the MOH test to practice here in KSA, you need to show that your side is clear before you approach the labor office or govt authorities.

Other option is to hope that your employer will give you final exit, no need to get iqama issued they can give final exit and also at the same time block you from entering KSA again. Its good to leave / part ways amicably.

I haven't got an iqama so I couldnt take the govt exams or maybe my company hasn't facilitated that for me. WHen you say blocked from KSA ould that mean not being able to return to ksa at all to work or can i come under my husband's visa as wife and not work.

Yes, if they (your current sponsor intentionally) blocks your passport number you wont be able to come back to KSA, but you can come back on your husbands visa as a dependent but wont be able to work.

How long do you get blocked off?

aminahanjela wrote:

How long do you get blocked off?

Medical professions have a different time frame that I need confirmation on. As far as I know the normal time frame is two years, but some time they can black list your passport and that would mean for ever and even for Hajj or Umrah you might not be able to come.

Dear sir,
I am working in jeddah since April 2012, after several verbal and written requests to my employer  still he didn't make my iqama .Also my salary is pending of last 3month. Now the latest update is that employer has deposited my iqama fees but still have some problem that is entry of my number entered in my passport at the time of immigration is wrong and not showing in labour office computer, they said first correct this particular number from airport. Request for the same already given to concerned department about one month before but no positive feedback received yet. Kindly suggest what should i do and how long it will take time for correction,
Thanks

dpk_dy wrote:

Dear sir,
I am working in jeddah since April 2012, after several verbal and written requests to my employer  still he didn't make my iqama .Also my salary is pending of last 3month. Now the latest update is that employer has deposited my iqama fees but still have some problem that is entry of my number entered in my passport at the time of immigration is wrong and not showing in labour office computer, they said first correct this particular number from airport. Request for the same already given to concerned department about one month before but no positive feedback received yet. Kindly suggest what should i do and how long it will take time for correction,
Thanks

You need to take some one (company PR / GR / Mandoob or an arabic speaker ) to the airport and rectify the issue of the wrong entry first. Then you can approach the labor office / jawazat to get your iqama ready.