Thousands of work visas are still sold by individuals and companies for between SR 8,000 and SR 15,000 per visa in the black market despite the government's efforts to contain the practice.

Hamid Al-Mutairy, a Saudi researcher, has estimated the Kingdom’s work visa black market at SR 2.4 billion annually.

He told Al-Jazirah Arabic daily: 'Officials are saying it is very difficult to control this market.' He said the number of illegal workers in the Kingdom is growing annually at the rate of 1.2 million, 27 percent of legal foreign workers, adding that they receive in total SR 4.5 billion a year in wages.

Al-Mutairy said at least 30 percent of legal foreign workers are engaged in coverup (tasattur) business activities, adding this could be worked out from the amount of their foreign transfers.

According to a 2009 estimate of the Labor Ministry, the total salary of expatriate workers was SR 56 billion.

However, the same year their foreign transfers amounted to SR 94.5 billion.
Saudi individuals and companies involved in visa trading receive work visas from the Labor Ministry after fulfilling all the necessary requirements, but the ministry would not know if they were planning to sell them on.

Al-Mutairy said: 'Some people establish fake firms to get visas. They sell these visas to prospective customers on the condition that the sponsorship should be transferred within two years. This is the most common type of visa trade in the Kingdom.'

Another method followed by visa traders, he said, is to open a fake company in another person’s name and paying the holder some money.

They later sell the visas received in the company's name.
Al-Mutairy added: 'Some people who have genuine companies or establishments manipulate the system to get more visas than required and sell the excess visas.'
Al-Mutairy’s studies were based on data obtained between 2000 and 2008.
The Labor Ministry has warned those involved in the black market would be prevented from recruiting foreign workers for five years.

The Labor Ministry issued more than 1.2 million visas in 2010.
The government passed a law in 2004 banning individuals from selling visas, receiving money from workers in exchange for visas, taking huge amounts of money for issuing re-entry visas or issuing and renewing iqamas and violating work contracts.