Govt Repatriates 146 Indonesians from Saudi Arabia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A total of 146 Indonesian citizens were repatriated from via Soekarno Hatta International Airport on January 24, 2025. The Indonesian citizens were overstayers who were previously detained at the Tarhil Sumaysi Immigration Detention Center. Most of them are illegal who have been working in Saudi Arabia for the past three years.

The Indonesian citizens arrived on commercial flights and were welcomed by the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI) institution and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Previously, the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah had assisted in the administration of travel documents, and coordinated with local immigration and police authorities. They also accompanied the Indonesian citizens from Saudi Arabia until they arrived in their home country.

The Indonesian citizens consisted of 27 males and 119 females. In terms of age, 130 of them were adults and the rest were children. The Indonesian citizens mostly came from the provinces of West Java and West Nusa Tenggara. Some other Indonesian citizens came from the provinces of Banten, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Riau, South Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara.

One of the Indonesian citizens with the initial N, a 45-year-old from Karawang Regency, had attracted public attention because he suffered from paralysis. N has been working in Abha province since 2017. This was his third departure to Saudi Arabia.

In early 2025, Indonesia facilitated the repatriation of a total of 554 Indonesian overstayers from Saudi Arabia, divided into three batches. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to Indonesian citizens to migrate safely, especially to work abroad, to avoid problems in the destination country.

Editor's Choice: 

to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News