A friend of mine was very excited about her pregnancy. "Now my mother can come and spend some time with me. I have a genuine excuse!" That was her thought. She had lived in the Kingdom for over five years and her mother-in-law had visited several times but not her own mother.
Visit visas in the Kingdom are not easy to get. The employer has to agree in writing to sponsor the individual and if that is acceptable, one of the employee’s parents — usually only the mother — is granted a visa. Because most employees are men, their mothers come more often. Women need a more solid reason for their mothers to come — and pregnancy and illness are considered genuine reasons!
Faria — not her real name — a Pakistani told Arab News her story. "I came to Saudi Arabia after marriage. My mother never saw me settled in my own home and it was one of her great desires. My mother-in-law comes every year; all my husband has to do is get a letter from his employer. One day I told him to do the same for my mother and when we went to the office to ask for her visa, the man at the counter nodded his head but kept saying, "No, no." We were told that my mother could not have a visa. The man, however, must have taken pity on me as he told my husband to get a letter from a doctor saying that his wife was sick and her mother needed to be here to help. We are law-abiding citizens and did not wish to indulge in any hanky-panky so we came home and my mother never got a visa."
A year later, Faria got sick. She needed minor surgery. "I was jumping with joy! I told the doctor that it was hard for me to recuperate with the responsibility of two active children. He agreed to give me a letter of medical necessity in which he said I would need constant care for several weeks. We filed that letter and my mother got a visa without any problems. I am so glad that she came and stayed with us for a few months. She was so overjoyed to be in the Kingdom."
An Indian woman told Arab News that she got a letter from a doctor saying she was sick when in fact she wasn’t. The woman said, "I had no choice. My mother is a widow and she lacked the means to come with a ‘mahram’. I have lived in Saudi Arabia for over 20 years and I wanted my mother to visit before we went home to India for good. She performed Haj a long time ago and now she wanted to perform Umrah. The doctor’s letter made it all possible. Now we know that Islam gives equal rights to men and women and to the parents of each. Why then should a man be able to bring his mother while his wife is unable to do so? My mother-in-law comes every year, but not my mother."
A Pakistani expatriate told us, "I really miss my mother; she is old and a widow. I feel as if time is passing quickly and my children hardly know her. She desperately wants to come here and we have tried twice but my husband’s company refuses to sponsor an employee’s mother-in-law. Everyone tells me I am a fool, that I should get a letter from a doctor saying I’m pregnant and then another one saying there was a miscarriage. But I can’t see myself doing all that; it is not only unlawful but devious and deceitful. Even today my mother urges me to try harder to get the visa. She really wants to come and spend a few months with me and my eyes fill with tears when I talk to her. My constant hope is that some new regulation will come into force that will make it easy for her to come here for a visit."
There are also cases where men are unable to get visas for either of their parents. Many companies refuse to sponsor parents unless the employee is in a senior position. It is, of course, natural for people to want their parents to visit. There is also the extra attraction for Muslims of being able to visit the holy cities.
It is a shame to oblige sponsors to behave unscrupulously; it is equally shameful that doctors and other corrupt individuals are ready to write reports and provide documents for a price. Law-abiding people are forced to resort to such behavior because there is no alternative. The Kingdom’s government has recently made a number of changes to visa regulations. It would be the answer to many prayers if visit visas for parents and family members were made easy to obtain. This would have a positive effect on the economy and would, in addition, put many law-breakers out of business. It would also give many expatriates the opportunity to take their parents for Umrah at a fraction of the cost of an Umrah package.