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BACKGROUND
In April 2017, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched a campaign titled ‘A Nation without Violations’, granting all irregular migrants an amnesty period of 90 days to leave the country without facing penalties. An estimated 500,000 migrants were present in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when the campaign was launched in March. After multiple extensions, the amnesty period ended in November 2017.
Returnees arrive at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, where they are registered by IOM staff before continuing on to their destination. IOM also provides travel support to the most vulnerable migrants. IOM teams have registered a total of 350,045 returnees since April 2017, although the organization estimates that returns to Ethiopia following the decree are likely to be even higher. Since May 2017, IOM has electronically registered 343,303 returnees whose profiles are presented in this factsheet.