Saudi Arabia has lifted the temporary ban on block work visa for India, Pakistan, bangladesh and 12 other countries after Haj-2025. Saudi's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has confirmed this decision. This has given a new hope to migrant workers towards employment. 14 countries of the world will get the benefit of lifting the block work visa ban. This will include India, Pakistan, bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Tunisia, yemen and Algeria.
What is a block work visa?
Block work visa is a central visa system of Saudi Arabia under which companies there are allowed to hire a certain number of foreign employees. This visa is especially used for large manufacturing and service sector companies. Large numbers of workers are used for recruitment in pre-approved numbers. This helps to make the visa process faster and structured. The Saudi government temporarily stopped this visa quota in january 2025 to avoid crowds and chaos during Haj.
Lakhs of workers will benefit from the lifting of the ban
Thousands of skilled workers affected by this decision of the Saudi government will now get new work opportunities. This is a relief news for those whose appointments were canceled or postponed due to the Haj season. This decision is especially beneficial for India, because the number of indian workers in Saudi Arabia is more than 26 lakhs. Every year thousands of indians go to Saudi in search of employment. The growth rate of expatriate indians in Saudi has been more than 10%.
Why was the ban imposed?
In the past years, it has been observed that many work visa holders also try to perform Hajj, leading to a crowd of pilgrims outside registration. In 2024, several deaths occurred during Hajj due to heat and chaos, which were believed to be caused by pilgrims who came without valid permission or registration. Due to this, the Saudi government takes several strict measures on work visas, travel permits and Mecca entry during Hajj every year.
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