Community
Saudi Arabia
Somalis have lived and worked in Saudi Arabia since the Gulf work wave of the 1970s and 1980s, but no official count exists. Many now arrive by the dangerous route through Yemen, and workers live under the kafala system, where an employer controls their status.
Who lives there
No official count of Somalis in Saudi Arabia was found. Host states in the Gulf rarely count Somalis as a separate group. The first large wave came as workers in the 1970s and 1980s (Clingendael, 2019).
Many now arrive without papers along the Eastern Route through Yemen. The border with Saudi Arabia is heavily guarded, and Human Rights Watch documented killings of migrants there in 2022 and 2023 (ADHRB, Jan 2025).
Work and money
East African migrants work mostly in construction, hospitality and domestic work. Under the kafala system the employer controls a worker's legal status, job changes and travel. Reforms in 2021 left out domestic workers, drivers, farm workers, guards and shepherds, and there is no minimum wage for domestic workers (ADHRB).
The law on collecting money
Collecting donations without a licence is a crime. The penalty is a fine of up to SAR 500,000 and up to two years in prison. Foreigners are deported afterwards and barred from returning, except for Hajj and Umrah. Media that promote unlicensed fundraising are also fined (Gulf News, Aug 2024).
What the community faces now
- Arrests and expulsions: campaigns against migrants without papers in 2013 and from 2017. Detention sites such as Al-Shumaisi have held women and children (ADHRB).
- Strict fundraising law: unlicensed collection brings prison and deportation.
Top needs
- Valid identity papers, such as passports and birth records, to keep or regain legal status.
- A safe landing at home for people who are deported or return.
- Lawful ways to support home that people can check.
- Paid work that can move home with people.
- Remembrance for those lost on the route.
How Calankii works here
Nothing is collected, staged or branded in public in Saudi Arabia, and no meetings are held. Each person sends their own money by a licensed remitter or mobile money, straight to a named project at home.
What we don't know yet
How many Somalis live in Jeddah, Riyadh and Mecca, and wage figures. If you know, use "Fix this page".
Sources
- Clingendael, 2019 · clingendael.org
- ADHRB, Jan 2025 · adhrb.org
- Gulf News, Aug 2024 · gulfnews.com
Gathered in our research record “Community profiles”. Wikipedia is used only as a backup.
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