JEDDAH: Muhammad Al-Rajbi works for a private company and takes his annual leave during the summer. However, instead of going on holiday to some exotic place, Al-Rajbi sits in the sun outside Jeddah’s bustling Passport Office to earn extra cash by helping visa applicants electronically pay their fees.
The only qualification that 30-year-old Al-Rajbi needs is a bank account with Riyad Bank. The service he provides is useful for applicants, as the Passport Office does not take cash and payments can only be made via Riyad Bank’s ATM machines.
Although one is located at the Passport Office, many people do not have accounts with the bank, hence creating a niche in the market for people like Al-Rajbi, who charges SR10 for each transaction.
Al-Rajbi and other Saudis like him can be seen close to the office calling out if anyone needs to pay their visa fees. Al-Rajbi tries to be at the office at around 7 a.m. when it opens, and leaves around 1.30 p.m. or 2 p.m. — the longer he stays the more money he makes. He earns an average of around SR800 a day; some days such as Saturday he earns over SR1,000.
“This summer is promising with a three-month school vacation and weather prompting people to go abroad to seek cooler regions,” he said.
There are a lot of other youths offering the same service. Abdul Salam Al-Rashidi, another Saudi youth, said, “We can double our income by offering other services such as filling out the visa applications, as many applicants are unable to read and write Arabic.”
There are a number of Ethiopians and Eritreans, who assist Saudi youths. They stand on the street and bring clients to the Saudis who sit at desks under large beach umbrellas.
Musa Abdi, an Ethiopian said, “While my Saudi boss fills out the forms, I attract clients. I earn about SR150 a day.” He added that since the end of June, business has been good and reached its peak with the closure of schools.
