TODAY when countries have become interdependent, when communication has become so easy, when the flow of information can be instant and accurate, and when security has become extremely sophisticated, expatriates in Saudi Arabia still have to go through the old system of Exit-Re-Entry visas.

The delays in getting it, the inability of the expatriate to go back home, or anywhere else, anytime they want and the helplessness associated with it is beginning to seem like a control that is really not necessary anymore. There is absolutely no reason for it and it totally baffles the logic of any sane person.

Every expatriate has either a one or two year residence permit, which is renewable upon the request of the sponsor. During this time, the expat worker is totally stranded if the sponsor decides not to sign and stamp the exit re-entry visa form. How is that right?

An expatriate is either working or studying (dependent visa) or doing business here. It is his/her right to travel as frequently as he/she wants. If the expat worker neglects his duty, it is his own loss. If he violates the contract, the employer can take him to court. But the employer cannot be a master who owns the basic rights of a person. Though not done intentionally, this current system gives so much power to the employer that it resembles, in some aspects, slavery.

The idea is to prevent crooks from getting away and to provide some sort of security to local employers from foreign workers. But I'm sure Saudi Arabia does have some kind of agreements in place with the countries it recruits workers from. Those agreements should be sufficient to provide security to employers as well as foreign workers. Why unnecessarily burden people?

This seems absurd especially after the current rule of fingerprinting. The whole running around and standing in lines is not at all required. With the modern system in place, information of each and every residence permit holder is only a click away and it can be shared with almost any developed country of the world. Movement can be, and is, traced easily now.

Agreed, certain professionals cannot just stand up and leave when they please because of their responsibilities. But holding them back in this way is not the answer too. There are better ways to ensure security without hurting the masses. For instance, in countries like the UAE and Bahrain, expat workers get a three-year residence permit and they can come and go as and when they please. If a violator is exiting the country, it is quite easy to know too.

So, there is a better model than the Saudi system of exit-re-entry visa. Why not adopt it? After all, the electronic Iqama system and the fingerprinting system were adopted. One can easily compare the effectiveness of the labor industry in flexible countries with that of the labor industry in Saudi Arabia. Several workers here are demotivated and complaining all the time. They also are not as efficient as they would be somewhere else. This is a direct result of such problematic procedures and systems.

Here are some very common results of this exit-re-entry visa policy:

This list goes on and on. I can write volumes of books with tragic stories that have happened with so many families living here only because of the system of exit-re-entry.

Just why should Saudi Arabia have it? What message is being sent with this? If Saudi Arabia doesn't want foreigners working here, simply stop recruiting. But why have difficult systems? This hurts not just the image of Saudi Arabia, but that of the whole Muslim world.

I urge decision makers to employ systems that are many times more effective and simple. Systems that do not hurt the public -- Saudi or non Saudi -- but facilitate good and positive development.