DAMMAM, 20 July — Expatriate employees will now be affected if sponsors failed to pay their traffic fines. Employees will be denied exit and re-entry visas to travel abroad, according to a new law issued by the Passports Department. The law is being applied in order to reduce traffic violations.
The law states that employees would not be allowed to leave the Kingdom if their sponsors have not paid their traffic fines, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
The Passports Directorate will not issue a final exit stamp for an employee working under a sponsor who has not paid the fines, Al-Yaum newspaper reported.
“Visa and iqama (residence permits) will not be issued to expat workers unless their sponsors have paid the fines for their (sponsor’s) violations,” the instructions of the Passports Department said. No passport will be issued to a Saudi until he settles all his fines to the Traffic Department, the report added.
Riyadh’s Traffic Department has made arrangements with the Civil Status Department and the Passports Department in the region to receive the payments of fines from traffic violators.
“From next week, citizens and residents will have to pay their fines against traffic violations in Civil Status Department and Passports,” said Lt. Col. Abul Rahman Al-Muqbil, director of Traffic Department in Riyadh. Trained officials will be present in those offices to collect the fines, Al-Muqbil added. Efforts are under way to facilitate payment of fines at local banks, the official said.
“The process is under study and the authorities hope to implement these facilities shortly,” he said. According to a report in Al-Jazeerah newspaper on July 11 the Civil Status Department had decided not to add the names of wives to the family registers of Saudi citizens unless they pay all the fines for traffic violations recorded against them. The order was issued “as part of efforts by the concerned government departments to maintain traffic regulations and to halt the rising number of traffic accidents.”
Such violators will not be issued their identity cards until the fines are paid, the report said. These departments can coordinate in such matters easily because their offices are linked to a computer network system. The Traffic Department is keeping a file which provides the necessary details of those who have not paid their fines.
The Riyadh Passports Department also announced that it will not provide passport services to citizens who have not paid their fines to the Traffic Department.
The Passports Department will also refuse to process expatriate workers’ documents working under a Saudi, who has failed to settle his accounts with the Traffic Department.
