Abdullah Al-Dahhas

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

 

MAKKAH — The 248,639 Burmese living in the Kingdom will have their residence status corrected by the end of July, Makkah Governorate has announced.



The governorate said so far as many as 80,000 of them have corrected their status in various parts of the Kingdom.



The governorate said work is currently going on to correct the status of the remaining 168,639 through a special committee in Makkah established for the purpose.



The committee works closely with a number of concerned ministries and government departments including the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, labor and finance in addition to the Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat).



The Burmese, who have been living in the Kingdom for many years, are concentrated in eight major cities and regions, according to statistics issued by the governorate.



The statistics said 192,284 of them are living in Makkah, 43,914 in Jeddah, 9,622 in Madinah 1,354 in Taif, 894 in Asir Province, 552 in Riyadh Province, 462 in the Eastern Province, 339 in Qunfudah and 248 in Al-Baha.



Abu Al-Shama Abdul Majeed Al-Arkani, chairman of the Burmese community, praised the Kingdom's concern for his community.



“The Saudi government has been taking good care of us since the time of King Abdul Aziz, the founder, until the present time of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman,” he said.