RIYADH, April 7: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has ordered a three-month delay to the ongoing crackdown on illegal foreign workers, giving them a chance to sort out their papers.

“King Abdullah directed both the interior ministry and the labour ministry to give an opportunity to workers in breach of the labour and residency regulations in the kingdom to clarify their status in a period not exceeding three months,” said a statement carried by the official media.

“Action will be taken in accordance with the law against those expatriates who fail to correct their status within this grace period,” the king said.

Under Saudi law, expatriates have to be sponsored by their employers, but many switch jobs without getting their residency papers transferred. According to the interior ministry, employers and expatriate workers will face heavy fine and prison terms if they are found violating iqama and visa laws.

The ministry has outlined 34 violations ranging from expatriates failing to provide proof of residency to forgery to employers hiring workers on a visitor’s visa. The amount of fine ranges from riyals 1,000 to 50,000, depending on the nature of violation.

The king’s directive came as a huge relief to thousands of expatriate workers who were under tremendous strain following reports of inspection by officials of the ministries concerned of schools and private establishments in order to find foreigners with questionable status.

The crackdown has been launched as part of labour market reforms aimed at putting more Saudi nationals into private sector jobs.