However, the new "No Kafala" system will not allow workers to come to the country until after their work contract is available. Furthermore, the requirement to wait three months to switch to a new job is a long period that restricts the freedom of movement and work for workers. Also, this initiative will not include five professions, namely private drivers, guards, domestic workers, shepherds and gardeners. Despite the absence of accurate official statistics about their actual number, some media sources suggested that there are about 3.66 million males and females representing about 59% of workers in the private sector in the Kingdom.
In Yemen, on 07 March 2021, a massive fire broke out in the Passport Building Prison in the capital, Sana'a, where nearly 900 foreign migrants, most of them Ethiopians, are being held, resulting in the death of 30 of them. The fire left more than 170 injured people who are still receiving treatment, including critical cases, according to a statement by the International Organisation for Migration, published on its website on 09 March 2021. The prison is controlled by the de facto government, the Houthi group.
Ethiopian migrants were on hunger strike to protest against the poor conditions of detention and overcrowding, in addition to their demands for their release. The fire took place minutes after riot police arrived and fired two tear gas canisters inside and outside the detention facility. Reliable security reports from the prison itself confirmed that some of those who lost their lives as a result of the fire were in possession of official residency documents.