Yemenis queue outside the Yemeni Consulate in Jeddah. (SPA)

The Yemeni Consulate in Jeddah has issued 25,000 documents to help correct the status of its nationals in the Kingdom.

It has set up 16 committees and allocated 150 employees to help Yemenis sort out their documentation, in line with the amnesty announced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, according to a report in a local publication.

Ahmed Saeed Numaan, deputy Yemeni consul in Jeddah, said the consulate had received assistance from Saudi Arabia’s government departments to complete the paperwork.

He said the consulate deals with three categories of workers. The first are those holding valid passports who entered the country before April this year. They only need to complete a medical examination and visit the service center at Shumaisi with their host.

The second category are people who hold expired passports, while the third category are those who do not hold any documentation to prove they entered the country, and who must produce some kind of paperwork to prove they did so legally.

The deputy consul said Yemeni residents and Saudi citizens are allowed to host five people. “Companies are allowed to host 10 percent of their registered labor force,” he said.

Numaan said the consulate is expecting many more Yemenis to turn up for documentation. The consulate was able to handle all the paperwork this would involve, he said.

Lt. Col. Ahmad Al-Luhaidan, spokesman of the Passport Department, said officials were working to correct the status of Yemenis based on the orders of the king. About 2,121 Yemenis had corrected their status up until Wednesday last week, he said.

Tayseer Al-Mufarrij, spokesman of the Ministry of Labor, said all jobs within the private sector are open to Yemenis except those allocated to Saudi citizens under labor law. Allocation of education, engineering and health jobs need government approval, he said.

Under the royal amnesty, Yemenis would be given six-month extendable visas and allowed to work in the country provided they have their documentation attested by their missions.

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