The government-sanctioned National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor will legalize the status of some 45,000 Indonesians working in Syria starting in September, even though the Syrian government says they are already legal, agency chairman Jumhur Hidayat said Friday.

He said the Indonesian government considered them illegal because they entered Syria through Jordan despite not having the proper visas.

"After meeting the Syrian manpower minister, Diala Alhaj Aref, we decided to legalize these workers because Syria is now officially a choice of placement and there should be a clear placement arrangement," Jumhur was quoted as saying by Detik.com newsportal.

Aref said according to Syrian law the Indonesian workers were already legal, but he would allow Indonesia to register them.

The process will involve the registration of the workers, their inclusion in an insurance program and the distribution of migrant worker cards.

JP