They take $600 million out of Iraq annually.
The number of foreign workers in Iraq has exceeded 1 million, and only 71,000 of them have official permits, the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said on Monday.
Th Iraqi Labor and Social Affairs Minister Ahmad al-Asadi has said there are more than 1 million foreign workers in Iraq, many of whom work illegally and pose a threat to the Iraqi labor market.
Najm Aqabi, spokesman for the ministry, said there were no official statistics on the number of foreign workers who are not licensed, and no one can determine the exact number, because they did not come to work but on travel visas. The number of officially licensed workers is 71,146.
Meanwhile, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, the prime minister's financial adviser, said foreign workers who are officially registered take $600 million out of Iraq annually.