Jeddah: Saudi Arabia has suspended visa requirements for Filipino domestic workers in the wake of the Philippine Ministry of Labor’s decision to suspend the sending of domestic workers to Saudi Arabia. Restrictions on new contracts and visas can only be lifted if the Philippines reconsiders its decision to send workers.
The cost of bringing Filipino domestic workers into the country is between 21,000 riyals and 22,000 riyals, including value added tax, and the cost of transferring the services of a domestic worker between two employers ranges from 25,000 riyals to 30,000 riyals. The transfer of services requires the approval of domestic workers. The number of requests for male Filipino professional workers has recently increased, according to a Saudi investor. Salih al-Qahtani said.
He noted that the process of issuing domestic worker visas, which had been issued earlier, was moving very slowly from the Philippine side, with some transactions taking three to four months.