As Saudi Arabia new labor reforms are coming into practice following a grace period Yemeni officials have already established that an estimated 53,000 Yemeni workers have came back from the Kingdom after they were unable to regularize their working permits.
"Our figures show that 53,000 were deported since the beginning of this month because they were staying illegally in Saudi territories," Abdulkader Eidh, undersecretary of the Yemeni ministry of expatriates, told Reuters on Monday, adding, "We expect the number of the deported to reach 150,000 after the grace period expires in ten days."
While this new opening in Saudi Arabia's workforce will mean that more Saudi nationals will have greater job opportunities in a so far dried market, Yemen stands to see its economy destabilize by the loss of remittances.
With Yemen already only barely holding its economy together by the very skin of its teeth another hiccup could mean its castle of cards will tumble to the ground in a loud crash, setting the impoverished back where at the bottom of a its budget deficit pit.
With 40% of its population already living under the poverty threshold, with less than $2 per day, Yemen need Saudi Arabia remittances, tends of thousands of families across the country are relying in this source of income to meet their financial obligations.
The World Bank estimated that Yemenis' personal remittances in 2011 amounted to $1.4 billion, or around 4.2% of gross domestic product. Such a loss of income on the short term could cause the economy to take a nose dive, which in turn could fuel further unrest.