Tangerang. The government repatriated 146 Indonesian citizens from Saudi Arabia on Friday. A majority of these recently arrived Indonesians were overstayers.

"There were also those who were sent back home by their employers. Some even ran away [from their employers]. But we are still looking into what really happened," Migrant Worker Protection Minister Abdul Kadir Karding told reporters.

"All of these people did not follow the proper procedures [when they flew to Saudi Arabia]. But since this is part of the government's responsibility, we will make sure that these people can return to Indonesia safely," Abdul said.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, 119 of the repatriated Indonesian nationals were women. A majority of these citizens are adults. They mostly come from West Java and West Nusa Tenggara.

The government has facilitated the return of 554 overstayers from Saudi Arabia since the beginning of 2025.