Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anas Al-Saleh has issued instructions to the Assistant Undersecretary for Residence Affairs Major General Talal Ma’arafi to block all transactions of expatriates who brought relatives on visit visas and have not left the country and are believed to be staying in the country illegally, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

According to report, the ‘block’ will be lifted after only if the proof of departure is submitted to the concerned department.

The report says that the Ministry of Interior had to take this step following the influx of people who entered the country either on business or visit visas and did not leave after the expiry of the visa. It is believed more than 30,000 people, most of them women and children, have not left the country after the expiry period of such visas.