Expats in Saudi Arabia are to be given improved employment rights under changes to the Gulf kingdom's sponsorship system, a senior government official was quoted as saying.


Ahmed Al-Hemaidan, undersecretary for labour affairs, told Saudi Gazette that amendments to the country's employment law meant it would become illegal to confiscate foreign workers' passports or ban them from travelling within the country.


Foreign residents will also be given the freedom to transfer their sponsorship from one employer to another as part of the changes, Al-Hemaidan was reported as saying.

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“What we are trying to do now is to ensure and guarantee the full rights of the labourer without infringing on the employer’s rights,” Ahmed Al-Hemaidan was quoted as saying by the newspaper.


“This has been achieved by revoking some of the restrictions mentioned earlier.”


According to media reports, the Ministry of Labour is also expected to introduce a law by the end of the year which will replace individual sponsors with an alternative body.


The “Commission for Affairs of Foreign Workers” - to be affiliated to the Ministry of Labour - will also be tasked with overseeing the conditions of foreign workers in the kingdom under the rules.


The commission will be headquartered in Riyadh with several branches located around the country.


The ministry is also thought to be mulling laws which will allow overseas workers to bring their families to Saudi Arabia during time off, perform Islamic pilgrimages and visit their relatives in another part of the country, without their sponsor’s consent.


Other possible moves by the ministry include introducing an obligatory insurance policy to guarantee the financial rights of the employee.