Indonesian Government Returns 146 Indonesian Overstayers From Saudi Arabia, 16 Of Them Children

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government has again facilitated the repatriation of 146 Indonesian citizens overstaying from Saudi Arabia today through Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

"We facilitate through the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia Jeddah in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian immigration and police to process the travel documents of the Indonesian citizens," said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted from Antara, Friday, January 24.

The Indonesian citizens, consisting of 27 men and 119 women, are mostly illegal migrant workers who worked in Saudi Arabia in the last three years, previously at the Tarhil Sumaysi Immigration Detention Center. Of the 146 Indonesian citizens who were repatriated, 16 of them were children.

Most of the Indonesian citizens came from West Java and West Nusa Tenggara, while several others came from Banten Province, DKI Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Riau, South Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara.

When they arrived in the country, Indonesian citizens were greeted by the Minister of Protection for Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI) Abdul Kadir Karding and the ranks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and KP2MI.

Early 2025, the Indonesian government had facilitated the repatriation of 554 overstayers from Saudi Arabia which were divided into three waves. For this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to urge Indonesian citizens to migrate according to applicable regulations, especially those who want to work abroad to avoid problems in the destination country.