DAMMAM, 30 August 2003 — Immigration posts are no longer stamping Saudi and Bahraini passports on the King Fahd Causeway as of yesterday, according to Fahd Al-Humaidi, Director of the Passports Department in the Eastern Province.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last month signed a bilateral agreement waiving passport stamping when their nationals enter each others’ countries.
Al-Humaidi said that all other procedures — entering details of the traveler into the computer, customs, etc. — would remain the same.
“The new system does not mean that travelers will pass through immigration by waving their national ID cards or passports,” he said. Instead they will have to produce the passport to the immigration official, who will enter all the relevant details of the travelers in his computer.
“The only change is that the passport will not be stamped for entry or exit ,” the director added.
The introduction of the new system will also obviate the travel card issued to regular commuters who travel across the bridge more or less daily, mainly students and businessmen, Al-Humaidi said.
The agreement comes as a relief to frequent travelers who had complained that the stamps could fill a whole passport in as little as a month.
Saudis and Bahrainis both welcomed the decision and said the new procedure would facilitate their journey on the causeway.
Bahrain has comparatively relaxed rules for the residents of the Kingdom who visit the island.
Barring few job categories, expatriates working in the Kingdom can obtain a visa on arrival.
Saudi Arabia also recently introduced an express lane for businessmen and top executives who use the causeway frequently. For a fee of SR10,000 per year, they are able to avoid jams at peak times.
