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Saudi Arabia arrests 13,628 people for violating visa and border security laws
The authority added that it also apprehended 1,197 people for attempting to cross the border into the Kingdom
- PUBLISHED: Sat 26 Sept 2026, 7:44 PM
Saudi Arabia has apprehended 13,628 people for violating visa and border security regulations.
In under a week, from September 17 to 23, the country conducted a campaign in which it arrested a total of 13,628 violators, including 6,593 who violated residency rules, 3,531 people who violated border security laws, and 3,504 violators of the labor system.
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The authority added that it also apprehended 1,197 people for attempting to cross the border into the Kingdom.
Of these, 36 per cent were Yemeni nationals, 63 per cent were Ethiopian nationals, and 1 per cent were of other nationalities. Twenty seven other individuals were arrested for attempting to cross the border out of the Kingdom illegally.
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On the other hand, authorities arrested 22 people for transporting, harbouring, employing, and concealing violators of residency, labor, and border security regulations.
Fourth: A total of 31,398 undocumented migrants are currently undergoing procedures for implementing the regulations, including 29,018 men and 2,380 women.
Fifth: 18,549 undocumented migrants were referred to their respective diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, 3,815 were referred to complete their travel arrangements, and 12,628 were deported.
The Kingdom's Ministry of Interior said that anyone who facilitates the entry of violators of the Kingdom's border security regulations, transports them within the Kingdom, provides them with shelter, or offers them any assistance or service whatsoever, is subject to up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to one million riyals, confiscation of the means of transport and the accommodation used for sheltering them. The names of the violators will also be made public.
