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The Ministry of Interior announced that joint inspection campaigns conducted from September 24 to September 30 resulted in the arrest of 5793 residency law violators 3307 border security violators and 2719 labour law violators. Ministry figures place the overall total at 11819 arrests for the period with security forces coordinating alongside other government agencies. The ministry released the data on October 3 outlining the scale of the latest enforcement round.
According to the ministry 9992 individuals were deported while 19893 violators were referred to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents and 4091 were referred to complete travel reservations. The ministry’s statement indicated that 32139 expatriates including 29934 men and 2205 women are currently undergoing legal procedures tied to these violations. These processing numbers reflect the volume of cases managed in a single week of operations.
The ministry reported that 1382 people were arrested while attempting to enter the kingdom illegally among whom 61 per cent were Ethiopian nationals 38 per cent were Yemeni nationals and 1 per cent were from other nationalities. Another 32 individuals were detained for attempting to leave the country unlawfully during the inspections. Border-related cases formed an integral part of the ministry’s weekly summary.
Ministry data showed that 19 people were arrested for transporting sheltering or employing violators. The ministry warned that anyone facilitating illegal entry transportation shelter or employment faces penalties of up to 15 years in prison fines reaching one million Saudi riyals and confiscation of vehicles or property used in the offences. The announcement detailed these legal consequences to underscore enforcement measures.
Comparable operations have produced consistent results in preceding weeks with the ministry reporting 10827 deportations after 14440 arrests for the period ending August 5 according to Gulf News. In mid-September the ministry recorded 12635 deportations following 14782 arrests in a separate seven-day drive Gulf News reported on September 20. These repeated campaigns demonstrate the regularity of such enforcement actions across 2026.
A further weekly update from the ministry issued on October 3 continued the pattern of public reporting on arrest deportation and referral statistics. The figures derive from coordinated inspections spanning all regions of the kingdom. No additional cumulative yearly totals were provided in the latest ministry statement.
