RIYADH  : Some 180,000 illegal foreign workers have left Saudi Arabia since April 1 under an amnesty that allowed them to try to sort out their papers or leave without paying a penalty, a

report said on Sunday. "Between the beginning of April and the start of June, 180,000 foreigners left the kingdom for good," Okaz daily quoted Badr Malek, spokesman for the passports department, as saying. This wave brings to 380,000 the number of foreign workers who have left Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year.

 Malek stressed that violators of immigration rules in the oil-rich kingdom will face penalties when the amnesty period ends on July 3, with punishment including imprisonment up to two years, and fines up to 100,000 riyals ($27,000).