Jun 21 2017 : The Times of India (Chennai)
Saudi tax to push Indian workers home
Sushil Rao
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Hyderabad:
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Expats Will Have To Pay 100 Riyals Per Month Per Dependent From July 1
The nearly 41 lakh Indian population in Saudi Arabia is bracing for the `dependent fee' that will come into force in the kingdom from July 1.With this tax -100 Riyals per month for each dependent -likely to burn a hole in their pockets, most families are now forced to send their dependents back home. Indians are the largest expat group in Saudi Arabia with at least 10 lakh Telugus from AP and Telangana employed there.
“Some families I know have made plans to return to Hyderabad as they feel they cannot afford to stay there any longer,“ said Mohd Taher, a computer professional from Musheerabad, Hyderabad, who lives in Dammam. Migrant rights activ ist Bheem Reddy Mandha said several Telugus had already sent their families back to India in the past four months. “The men have become `forced bachelors',“ he said.
Saudi Arabia gives family visa to anyone with a salary of 5,000 Riyals (` `90,000 approx) per month. So, an Indian expat with dependent wife and two children will have to pay a total of 300 Riyals (` `5,400 approx) a month. Moreover, this tax is set to go up by 100 Riyals per dependent every year till 2020. That means by 2020 a family would have to shell out 400 Saudi Riyals for each dependent every month.
To top it, this fee has to be paid in advance.
For instance if a man's dependent wife is to stay in Saudi Arabia for one year, a total of 1,200 Riyals has to be paid in advance at the time of renewal of the Iqama (residence permit). So, for a family of three dependents (wife and two children), the employee will pay the advance tax of 3,600 Riyals or 64,800 per year (approx).
Apart from this tax, life in Saudi Arabia is set to get tougher. From July 1, prices of beverages will go up by 100% and tobacco products will also become costlier.
With a number of workers having been laid off in Saudi Arabia because of the fall in crude oil prices, thousands of Indian workers have had to return with continuing uncertainly. Indians employed in construction, IT, medical infrastructure and other sectors are believed to be rethinking their plans on staying back in Saudi Arabia.
Mohd Yousuf Ali, who has been employed in Saudi Arabia for the last 25 years, said: “Hundreds of people have already sent their families away to India because of the dependent fee. They had to rush so that their children could take admissions in schools back in India.“
Ali is from Sultanabad in Karimnagar district in Telangana and lives in Jeddah with his wife and two children.
While some companies are reportedly planning to compensate their employees for the `dependent fee', most have no option but pay it themselves.
Asked what effect the `dependent fee' would have on Indian expats in Saudi Arabia, a senior official in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said nothing could be said as yet. “But it will affect all expats,“ the MEA official told TOI.
“Some families I know have made plans to return to Hyderabad as they feel they cannot afford to stay there any longer,“ said Mohd Taher, a computer professional from Musheerabad, Hyderabad, who lives in Dammam. Migrant rights activ ist Bheem Reddy Mandha said several Telugus had already sent their families back to India in the past four months. “The men have become `forced bachelors',“ he said.
Saudi Arabia gives family visa to anyone with a salary of 5,000 Riyals (` `90,000 approx) per month. So, an Indian expat with dependent wife and two children will have to pay a total of 300 Riyals (` `5,400 approx) a month. Moreover, this tax is set to go up by 100 Riyals per dependent every year till 2020. That means by 2020 a family would have to shell out 400 Saudi Riyals for each dependent every month.
To top it, this fee has to be paid in advance.
For instance if a man's dependent wife is to stay in Saudi Arabia for one year, a total of 1,200 Riyals has to be paid in advance at the time of renewal of the Iqama (residence permit). So, for a family of three dependents (wife and two children), the employee will pay the advance tax of 3,600 Riyals or 64,800 per year (approx).
Apart from this tax, life in Saudi Arabia is set to get tougher. From July 1, prices of beverages will go up by 100% and tobacco products will also become costlier.
With a number of workers having been laid off in Saudi Arabia because of the fall in crude oil prices, thousands of Indian workers have had to return with continuing uncertainly. Indians employed in construction, IT, medical infrastructure and other sectors are believed to be rethinking their plans on staying back in Saudi Arabia.
Mohd Yousuf Ali, who has been employed in Saudi Arabia for the last 25 years, said: “Hundreds of people have already sent their families away to India because of the dependent fee. They had to rush so that their children could take admissions in schools back in India.“
Ali is from Sultanabad in Karimnagar district in Telangana and lives in Jeddah with his wife and two children.
While some companies are reportedly planning to compensate their employees for the `dependent fee', most have no option but pay it themselves.
Asked what effect the `dependent fee' would have on Indian expats in Saudi Arabia, a senior official in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said nothing could be said as yet. “But it will affect all expats,“ the MEA official told TOI.
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