Indians employed in Saudi Arabia are planning to send their dependents back as the country is all set to introduce, from July 1, a monthly ‘dependent fee’.
A fee of 100 riyals (approx. Rs 1,700) per month for each dependent is likely to prove a big financial burden for the Indian expats.
At 41 lakh, Indians from 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. “The men have become forced bachelor’s,” he said.
Saudi Arabia issues the family visa to people with a salary of 5,000 riyals (approx. Rs 86,000) per month. So, an Indian living in the country with his wife and two children would have to pay 300 riyals (approx. Rs 5,100) a month.
This tax is set to go up by 100 riyals per dependent 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 a family of three dependents (wife and two children), the employee will have to pay an advance tax of 3,600 riyals or around Rs 62,000 per year. While some companies are planning to compensate their employees for the ‘dependent fee’, most people have no option but pay it themselves.
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