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Govt to repatriate RI visa overstayers in Saudi
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an immediate repatriation of undocumented Indonesian citizens in Saudi Arabia
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an immediate repatriation of undocumented Indonesian citizens in Saudi Arabia.
'Yesterday, I instructed the relevant ministers to handle the issue of Indonesians who had overstayed their visa in Saudi Arabia,' Yudhoyono said via his Twitter account in Jakarta on Friday, as quoted by Antara news agency.
The ministers assigned to handle the repatriation process are People's Welfare Coordinating Minister Agung Laksono, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
The President said the government had petitioned the Saudi Kingdom for a bilateral solution to the issue but the request hadn't received a positive response.
'Unfortunately, the partnership Indonesia hoped for never came to fruition. Therefore, immediate action needs to be taken,' he said.
The government had prepared haj planes to be used to allow those who had overstayed their visa to fly home at low cost, but only a few took advantage of the offer.
'There are 800,000 people overstaying, therefore, I have ordered an evacuation via air and sea so that they can immediately return home,' said Yudhoyono.
