Seven Indian workers have been deported from Saudi Arabia for visa violation, reports said today.
Some of the workers violated visa regulations intentionally, while the rest were cheated by their sponsors.
They were deported after being released from the Abha detention centre in Asir province on Thursday, Arab News reported.
Four of them flew home Friday morning.
"Of a total of 22 Indian inmates in the Abha detention center, only seven are eligible to return home," said Indian social worker Ashraf Kutichal.
The Abha chapter of the Overseas Indian Cultural Congress paid 1,000 Saudi riyals (around USD 265) each for the release of the expatriates as penalty for not being in possession of a valid "Iqama", a residency permit for expatriates in Saudi Arabia.
Ashraf said the remaining 15 face various charges and would not be allowed to leave the country.
"We are very happy going back home. We faced a lot of difficulties...It was very cold inside the deportation centre, especially at night," one of the workers said.
Mohammed Shamsuddin from Andhra Pradesh said, "I was going to the labour court to show my passport which I finally received from my sponsor but without an exit stamp. I was suddenly apprehended by the security patrols who brought me to the deportation centre where I have spent 55 days."
Arshad Khan from Gurgaon, Haryana, said he had paid 2,000 Saudi riyals (around USD 533) to his sponsor so that he could return to India but still ended up at the deportation centre.
