JEDDAH, 1 July 2007 — The Passport Department in Jeddah reported a quadruple increase in the number of renewal and new passport applications submitted by citizens.
The increase in applications has forced the department to increase its employees’ working hours to handle the heavy workload.
Brig. Gen Mohammed Al-Asmari, head of the Passport Department in Makkah region, said that the department receives from 1,500 to 2,000 applications daily.
He said that many citizens delay their passport renewal until a short period before their travel time, which reaches its peak during summer vacation. “This has forced our employees to work overtime,” he said.
He added that the department expects high numbers of applicants to continue on for a few more weeks. During the summer peak travel season approximately 60,000 new passports are issued monthly.
On normal days an average of 400 applications are submitted and around 12,000 new passport booklet are issued monthly.
Just after the end of the year exams, the applications submitted increased to 800 a day, around 24,000 within the first month.
The Passport Department has increased its employees working hours to 3:45 p.m. to avoid a backlog of applications.
Passport officials called on citizens planning to travel to check the validity of their passports beforehand and not leave it to the last minute to avoid delays.
For those wishing to issue a new passport or replace a lost or damaged passport they need to bring the new Saudi ID card as a regulation, said Al-Asmari.
He added that travelers need to take care of their official documents and not handed to any unofficial party in the country they are visiting.
“Citizens should register their passports at the Saudi Embassy or Consulate or representing offices upon entering a foreign country,” said Al-Asmari.
