“The newly extended working hours will continue until 5 p.m. from Saturday to Wednesday and on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” ministry undersecretary Abdulrahman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Fida told Eqtisadiah newspaper, a sister publication of Arab News.

He added that the new initiative has been established in line with the directions of Prince Naif, minister of interior and second deputy premier, in order to give more citizens and residents the opportunity to benefit from available civil services.

Al-Fida said that specific services to be provided as part of the extended hours will include those for women, as well as those dealing with queries related to national identity cards, renewing or obtaining a replacement card, services related to marriage, divorce, birth and death, among others.

Saudis have welcomed the new initiative, adding that the extended working hours will be a great help in allowing them access to services obtainable only from the civil affairs departments.

“My national identity card will expire next month and I have already been thinking about how I will renew it as I work from early in the morning until 3 p.m.,” Saudi architect Abdullah Al-Qurashi said.

“Now that the civil affairs departments have extended their hours, I am very happy that I will be able to leave work on time and go to the office to renew the card without being absent from my job,” he said.

Saudi father-of-five Ayman Al-Sharif said that he has been trying for four months to apply for a birth certificate for his daughter since she was born. However, due to his work schedule, he has not been able to visit the civil affairs office because he could not afford the pay deduction if he was absent from work.

“I think the new extended hours will be welcomed by many people like me, who in the past could not take advantage of the civil services because of schedule conflicts,” he said, adding that other government offices should also take the initiative to extend their hours as well.

For more information about which offices will be extending their hours, visit the Ministry of Interior website.