Riyadh, August 17, 2025 — In a sweeping enforcement operation from August 7 to August 13, Saudi Arabian authorities detained 21,997 individuals for contraventions of residency, border, and labor laws, according to official figures from the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
The breakdown shows:
13,434 individuals were apprehended for violating residency regulations,
4,697 for breaching border security,
and 3,866 for labor law infractions.
In addition, the crackdown extended beyond direct violators: 18 individuals were arrested for aiding by transporting, sheltering, or employing illegal residents.
Authorities swiftly referred 18,149 violators to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documentation, while 2,973 were provided with assistance in making travel reservations. So far, 12,861 individuals have been deported amid ongoing legal and administrative processes.
Currently, 25,439 expatriates, comprising 22,837 men and 2,602 women, remain under legal procedures, awaiting deportation or regularization.
This is not the first such campaign this summer. A similar crackdown had seen 22,072 arrests between July 31 and August 6, with a comparable pattern of violations: around 13,833 residencies, 4,624 border, and 3,615 labor law breaches. That operation also netted 37 individuals suspected of facilitating illegal entries, and 11,058 people had been deported by that point.
Penalties for facilitating violations remain stringent, offenders may face up to 15 years in prison, fines reaching SR 1 million (about USD 267,000), and seizure of vehicles or properties used in the commission of these offenses. The offenses are publicly classified as major and dishonorable crimes.
Analysts see these operations as part of a broader state effort to enforce the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, aiming to regulate workforce composition, curb illegal immigration, and ensure compliance with labor and residency standards.
Saudi Arabia’s large migrant population, especially in private-sector industries like construction, retail, and domestic work, has always made enforcement against undocumented residents a sensitive issue. Estimates suggest that while migrants make up about one-third of the population, they account for more than half of the labor force, often under precarious conditions.
Despite recent labor reforms aimed at loosening employer control over worker mobility, like easing exit-visa restrictions, human rights groups argue that undocumented migrants and those under the kafala sponsorship system remain highly vulnerable to exploitation and arbitrary enforcement actions.
Saudi authorities continue to encourage residents to report violations via emergency hotlines—911 in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province; 999 and 996 elsewhere and have signaled zero tolerance for non-compliance. As these campaigns persist, human rights observers emphasize the need for humane implementation and greater legal protections for vulnerable migrant communities.
