46 Indonesian Citizens Deported by Saudi Immigration
Makkah, MINA – As many as 46 Indonesian citizens depprted by the Saudi Arabian Immigration Office upon their arrival in Jeddah on Thursday morning. The have been repatriated to their homeland because their visas were not found in the Saudi Arabian immigration system.
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Religion, they departed for Saudi Arabia on regular flights, and landed at Jeddah International Airport, Saudi Arabia.
They did not pass the immigration process after it was discovered that the visa they were carrying was not found in Saudi Arabia’s immigration system.
According to the travel agency, they used visas from Singapore and Malaysia to dispatch the 46 Indonesian citizens.
The Director General of Hajj and Umrah at the Ministry of Religion, Hilman Latief, is concerned about the incident. Moreover, the arrival of 46 Indonesian citizens to Saudi Arabia with the intention to perform the pilgrimage.
The traveler is also not the one who usually sends special hajj pilgrims, has not been registered with the Ministry of Religion as a Special Hajj Organizer (PIHK).
“These 46 Indonesian citizens cannot enter Saudi Arabia and they are sent back to Indonesia,” explained Hilman Latief in Makkah on Saturday.
He mentioned that the Ministry of Religion will process this case into a criminal case after discussing it with the authorities
“We’ve discussed a lot of things and this concerns all of us. Hopefully later there will be derivatives of how the mujamalah (visa) concept is, what the rules are,” he said.
“Of course, because this is related to other parties, at least we must also discuss with the Saudi government the extent of the arrangement and whether it can be arranged by us,” he continued.
Hilman admitted, in addition to making a derivative of Law 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah, he will also optimize the role of PIHK in mujamalah visa matters.
“This is a complex issue, we have to look into it so it doesn’t happen again. I feel sorry for the congregation,” he said. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
