JEDDAH, 17 November 2006 — Expatriates in the Kingdom seeking exit/re-entry and exit-only visas will now be able to expedite their requests through a third-party rather than going directly to the Passports Department.
The new service will be provided with the support of Al-Elm Company for Information Security. Maj. Gen. Salim Mohammad Alblaihid, director general of the Passports Department, launched the service yesterday.
“The new service is introduced with the support of modern technology,” Alblaihid said, adding that expatriates would be provided with the visas without filling out any forms.
The service is currently only available to corporate employees, but will later be extended to individual workers. Alblaihid said that millions of expatriate workers and their families would benefit from the service.
“The system is not mandatory,” he said. “Companies can get the service through the previous system as well.”
The director general said that the system was tested at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh last week.
“We will apply the same system at all ports of entry shortly,” he said, adding that the department would also provide SMS service to clients in order to inform them about their workers and alert them to renew their iqamas (residency permits).
Khaled Al-Ghaneem, CEO of Al-Elm, said his company had already provided the service successfully to three companies. He said this was the first time a Saudi government service is being provided directly to the beneficiary without his directly approaching the relevant government agency.
“The company will charge small firms SR1,000 (per visa) and medium and big companies SR2,000 to SR3,000 for the service,” Al-Ghaneem said. There are more than six million expatriates in the Kingdom.
Expatriates have welcomed the new move saying it would facilitate their travel. Bashar Adeeb, a Syrian doctor, said the new system would help expatriates get exit/re-entry visas during holidays and weekends without delay.
Egyptian Abdul Hamid Hassan said the new system would make travel much easier. He said he was not able to attend the funeral of his father due to the absence of the officer in his company who liaises with the Passports Department.
