ع
The Ministry of Interior announced on October 2 that joint inspection campaigns conducted throughout Saudi Arabia in the preceding seven days had identified a total of 15,231 individuals in breach of residency, labor and border regulations. Of those, 7,589 cases involved residency violations while 4,443 concerned border security and 3,199 related to labor infractions, according to the ministry. Border personnel separately detained 1,763 people attempting unauthorized entry, the ministry reported, including groups where 44 percent held Yemeni nationality, 55 percent Ethiopian nationality and 1 percent other nationalities.
Officials also arrested 53 individuals for attempting to exit the Kingdom unlawfully during the campaign period covered in the ministry statement. Twenty-two people faced charges for transporting, sheltering or employing those found in violation of the rules, the ministry added. These operations reflect the latest in a series of weekly enforcement actions that the ministry has coordinated with other government bodies to maintain regulatory compliance.
A total of 26,407 expatriates, broken down by the ministry into 24,334 men and 2,073 women, currently face ongoing procedures to apply the relevant laws. The ministry statement indicated that 16,369 of them were instructed to secure travel documents from their diplomatic missions while another 3,618 were directed to finalize independent travel bookings. During the week authorities completed the repatriation of 9,992 individuals, aligning with deportation volumes recorded in comparable campaigns released by the ministry in recent months.
The Ministry of Interior has stressed that facilitating illegal entry, providing internal transportation, shelter or any related assistance constitutes a major offense. Penalties for such actions can include imprisonment for up to 15 years, fines as high as 1 million riyals, confiscation of involved vehicles or properties and public disclosure of the perpetrator’s identity, the ministry warned. These provisions have remained consistent across multiple weekly updates issued by the ministry throughout 2026.
Previous enforcement rounds tracked by the ministry produced similar outcomes, with one campaign concluded in late September resulting in 12,628 deportations after 13,628 violators were identified. That period also saw 1,197 attempted illegal entries intercepted, according to the ministry’s breakdown by nationality and violation type. The sustained sequence of operations underscores the government’s ongoing focus on border management and labor market regulation.
The ministry has encouraged the public to report suspected breaches by dialing 911 in the regions of Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province or using 999 and 996 in all other areas of the Kingdom. Such reporting mechanisms have been highlighted in each of the ministry’s periodic campaign summaries. Officials continue to process cases from these operations while emphasizing full adherence to established residency and employment frameworks.
