A local daily reported that the residence affairs department and the Public Authority of Manpower are reviewing expat workers' work permits in order to reduce their number by a quarter of a million.

Sources report that the number of iqama violators exceeds 100,000, which requires stricter security measures in areas with large numbers of violators, such as Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.

The demographics committee had earlier recommended increasing the work permit fees, determining specific numbers for each field of work and imposing health insurance for every worker. It is proposed to stop recruiting foreign workers except for specific specializations and for a period of five years, and to get rid of marginal workers.