Saudi `family tax` on expats |
Several Indians employed in Saudi Arabia are planning to send their dependants back with the kingdom set to introduce, from July 1, a monthly `dependant fee` for expats. The fee — 100 riyals (approx. Rs 1,700, as on June 20 ) per month for each dependent — is likely to prove a big financial burden for the Indian expats. At 41 lakh, Indians form Saudi Arabia`s largest expat group. Migrant rights activist Bheem Reddy Mandha said several people had already sent their families back in the past four months. Saudi Arabia issues the family visa to people with a salary of 5,000 riyals (approx. Rs 86,000) per month. So, an Indian expat living in the country with his wife and two children would have to pay 300 riyals (approx. Rs 5,100) a month. Moreover, this tax is set to go up by 100 riyals per dependant every year till 2020. This means that, in 2020, a family would have to shell out 400 riyals (approx. Rs 6,900) for each dependant every month. To top it all, this fee has to be paid in advance. For instance if a man`s dependant wife is to stay in Saudi Arabia for one year, a total of 1,200 riyals has to be paid in advance at the time of the renewal of the `iqama` (residence permit).
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