Saudi- Filipinos warned of exit visa scam

(MENAFN- Arab News) The Philippine Embassy warned all Filipinos in the Saudi capital Friday against dealing with any individual promising to expedite repatriation for a fee. In a statement, the embassy said that it had received "sworn complaints from a group of Filipinos who went to King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) on promises made by a certain Warren Villegas Soriano that they will be issued exit visas." The exit visas were supposed to be issued through a high-ranking official at the embassy and the victims paid various amounts without realizing that the issuance of exit visas could be done only through Saudi authorities. The travel documents submitted by Soriano's group indicated the seat number of the victims of the fraud. However, these were returned with exit visa reference codes because they were found to be spurious. "Nobody has been authorized to facilitate the issuance of exit visas in exchange for any amount. Issuance of exit visas may only be done through Saudi authorities," the embassy said. Sources claimed that operations being undertaken by unauthorized individuals on behalf of the embassy has caused it to take stricter measures on entry into its premises. "Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) seeking assistance deal with personnel at the embassy's gate," one Filipino said.