A bilateral amnesty program between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia in respect of Ethiopians illegally resident in the oil-rich Gulf nation expires today after a months’ extension elapsed. This effectively means that Saudi can now resort to forcible deportation and imprisonment of persons who failed to take the program and to return home. May 27, 2017June 24, 2017– The Ethiopian government said it had secured exit visas for about 40,000 undocumented citizens living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK, Hailemichael Aberra confirmed the extension to the BBC on saying “Ethiopia is trying its best to welcome the people from Saudi Arabia”. Ethiopia has one of the largest undocumented migrants in Saudi Arabia working as construction and domestic workers.

Source: Ethiopian News July 24, 2017 22:52 UTC