By AFP / 10 June 2013

Some 180,000 illegal foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia since April 1 under an amnesty that allowed them to try to sort out their papers or leave without paying a penalty, a report said on Sunday.

“Between the beginning of April and the start of June, 180,000 foreigners left the kingdom for good,” the Okaz daily quoted Badr Malek, spokesman for the passports department, as saying.

This wave brings to 380,000 the number of foreign workers who have left Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year.

Malek stressed that violators of immigration rules in Saudi Arabia will face penalties when the amnesty period ends on July 3, with punishment including imprisonment up to two years, and fines up to 100,000 riyals ($27,000).

According to official statistics, eight million expatriates work in Saudi Arabia. Economists say there are another two million unregistered foreign workers.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to create job opportunities for its unemployed nationals through cutting the number of foreign workers.

The world's largest oil exporter is a goldmine for millions of people from poor Asian and Arab countries that are reeling under high levels of unemployment.