Illegal guest workers prohibited from wiring money abroad

AMMAN – Illegal guest workers in Jordan will not be able to make money transfers to destinations outside the Kingdom under a new government decision, according to an official. 

Mohammad Khatib, spokesperson of the Labour Ministry, told The Jordan Times Monday that there are over 800,000 guest workers in Jordan, only 300,000 of whom have valid work permits. 

Khatib said the move aims at regulating the labour market in the Kingdom, where there are “hundreds of thousands of illegal workers”. 

Another official source told The Jordan Times that the value of cash transfers by guest workers in Jordan exceeds JD1 billion a year. 

The source said that there would be intensive police campaigns to places where guest workers go such as circles and major intersections in Amman, adding that illegal workers who are caught will be deported. 

There would be mobile police stations targetting illegal workers in Amman and other major cities, said the source. 

President of the Jordanian Exchange Association Alaa Eddine Diraniyeh confirmed that the Central Bank of Jordan issued a circular to money exchange outlets instructing them to make transfers for guest workers who have valid work permits only. 

“Money exchangers will comply with the new regulations,” he said. 

“Anyone willing to send money outside the country will have to present a valid work permit as part of the documents required for the transfer,” said Diraniyeh. 

Khatib said that there would be certain measures so no one can circumvent the new regulations.