Editing Saudi Arabia (section)

=== Foreigners ===
{{See also|Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia|Migrant workers in the Gulf region|Kafala system}}

The Central Department of Statistics & Information estimated the foreign population at the end of 2014 at 33% (10.1 million).<ref name="CDSI">{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/697371 |title=KSA population is 30.8m; 33% expats|date=31 January 2015 |publisher=ArabNews.com | access-date=6 November 2015}}</ref> The CIA Factbook estimated that {{as of|2013|lc=on}} foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia made up about 21% of the population.<ref name="CIA World Factbook" /> Other sources report differing estimates.<ref name="alriyadh.com">{{cite web |author=جريدة الرياض |title=جريدة الرياض : سكان المملكة 27 مليوناً بينهم 8 ملايين مقيم |url=http://www.alriyadh.com/2010/08/05/article549461.html |publisher=Alriyadh.com}}</ref> [[Indians in Saudi Arabia|Indian]]: 1.5 million, [[Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia|Pakistani]]: 1.3 million,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/number-pakistani-expats-exceeds-15-m |title=Number of Pakistani expats exceeds 1.5 m |publisher=Arabnews.com |date=29 August 2012}}</ref> Egyptian: {{gaps|900|000}}, Yemeni: {{gaps|800|000}}, [[Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia|Bangladeshi]]: {{gaps|400|000}}, [[Filipinos in Saudi Arabia|Filipino]]: {{gaps|500|000}}, Jordanian/Palestinian: {{gaps|260|000}}, [[Indonesians in Saudi Arabia|Indonesian]]: {{gaps|250|000}}, Sri Lankan: {{gaps|350|000}}, Sudanese: {{gaps|250|000}}, [[Syrians in Saudi Arabia|Syrian]]: {{gaps|100|000}} and [[Turks in Saudi Arabia|Turkish]]: {{gaps|80|000}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/EGM_Ittmig_Arab/P02_Kapiszewski.pdf |title=Arab versus Asian migrant workers in the GCC countries |page=10}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', {{as of|2013|lc=yes}} there were more than half a million [[Migrant domestic workers|foreign-born domestic workers]]. Most have backgrounds in poverty and come from Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.<ref name="the guardian1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/13/saudi-arabia-treatment-foreign-workers |date=13 January 2013 |title=Saudi Arabia's treatment of foreign workers under fire after beheading of Sri Lankan maid |last=Chamberlain |first=Gethin |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140307/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/13/saudi-arabia-treatment-foreign-workers |url-status=live }}</ref> To go to work in Saudi Arabia, they must often pay large sums to recruitment agencies in their home countries. The agencies then handle the necessary legal paperwork.<ref name="humanrightswatch1">{{cite web |author=Human Rights Watch |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&amp;docid=412ef32a4 |title='Bad Dreams:' Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |date=14 July 2004 |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312095552/https://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=412ef32a4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As the Saudi population grows and oil export revenues stagnate, pressure for "Saudization" (the replacement of foreign workers with Saudis) has grown, and the Saudi government hopes to decrease the number of foreign nationals in the country.<ref>{{cite web |author1=P.K. Abdul Ghafour |url=http://www.arabnews.com/node/395511 |title=3 million expats to be sent out gradually |date=21 October 2011 |access-date=7 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108233041/http://www.arabnews.com/node/395511 |archive-date=8 November 2011 |quote="Nearly three million expatriate workers will have to leave the Kingdom in the next few years as the Labour Ministry has put a 20% ceiling on the country's guest workers" }}</ref> Saudi Arabia expelled {{gaps|800|000}} Yemenis in 1990 and 1991<ref>"[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/01/yemen-guantanamo-al-qaida Yemen's point of no return]". ''The Guardian''. 1 April 2009.</ref> and has built a [[Saudi–Yemen barrier]] against an influx of illegal immigrants and against the smuggling of drugs and weapons.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2008/jan/saudi_authorities_erect_barriers_on_yemeni_border.aspx |title=Saudi authorities erect barriers on Yemeni border |first=Mohammed|last=al-Kibsi|date=12 January 2008 |newspaper=Yemen Observer}}</ref> In November 2013, Saudi Arabia expelled thousands of illegal Ethiopian residents from the kingdom. Various Human Rights entities have criticized Saudi Arabia's handling of the issue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.persecutionofahmadis.org/saudi-arabia-amnesty-international-calls-for-end-to-arrests-and-expulsions/ |title=Saudi Arabia: Amnesty International calls for end to arrests and expulsions "Persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |publisher=Persecutionofahmadis.org}}</ref>

Over {{gaps|500|000}} [[Illegal immigration to Saudi Arabia|undocumented migrant workers]]—mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen—have been detained and deported since 2013.<ref>"[https://www.vice.com/en/article/dogs-are-better-than-you-saudi-arabia-accused-of-mass-abuses-during-migrant-worker-crackdown/ 'Dogs Are Better Than You': Saudi Arabia Accused of Mass Abuses During Migrant Worker Crackdown]". [[Vice News]]. 11 May 2015.</ref> An investigation led by ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'', exposed the condition of African migrants who were detained in Saudi Arabia allegedly for containing [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] in the kingdom. They were beaten, tortured, and electrocuted. Many of the migrants died due to heatstroke or by attempting suicide, after being severely beaten and tortured. The migrants lack proper living conditions, provision of food and water.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/investigation-african-migrants-left-die-saudi-arabias-hellish/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/investigation-african-migrants-left-die-saudi-arabias-hellish/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Investigation: African migrants 'left to die' in Saudi Arabia's hellish Covid detention centres|access-date=30 August 2020|website=The Telegraph|date=30 August 2020|last1=Brown|first1=Will|last2=Zelalem|first2=Zecharias}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Foreigners cannot apply for [[permanent residency]], though a specialized [[Premium Residency]] visa became available in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi Arabia Charges Foreigners $213,000 for Permanent Residency |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-23/saudi-arabia-charges-foreigners-213-000-for-permanent-residency |work=Bloomberg |date=23 June 2019}}</ref> Only Muslims can become Saudi citizens.<ref>{{cite book|first=Eleanor|last=Doumato|editor-first1=Sameena|chapter=Saudi Arabia|editor-last1=Nazir|editor-first2=Leigh|editor-last2=Tomppert|title=Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5spje12_is4C&q=Only%2520a%2520muslim%2520can%2520be%2520a%2520saudi%2520citizen&pg=PA259|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date= 2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-4992-0|page=259}}</ref> Foreigners who have resided in the kingdom and hold degrees in various scientific fields may apply for Saudi citizenship,<ref>{{Cite web|title=تفاصيل النظام|url=https://laws.boe.gov.sa/BoeLaws/Laws/LawDetails/d9f183b6-3afc-4405-834f-a9a700f18571/1|access-date=2021-06-06|website=laws.boe.gov.sa}}</ref><ref>2004 law passed by Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers. {{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=58980&d=14&m=2&y=2005 |title=Expatriates Can Apply for Saudi Citizenship in Two-to-Three Months |publisher=Arabnews.com |date=14 February 2005}}</ref> and exception made for Palestinians who are excluded unless married to a male Saudi national, because of [[Arab League]] instructions barring the Arab states from granting them citizenship. Saudi Arabia is not a signatory to the [[Convention relating to the Status of Refugees|1951 UN Refugee Convention]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/saudi-arabia-says-reports-of-its-syrian-refugee-response-false-and-misleading |title=Saudi Arabia says criticism of Syria refugee response 'false and misleading' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=12 September 2015}}</ref>