Dependent over 25 can’t be sponsored by father

Residents above 25 will no longer be allowed to remain under the sponsorship of their fathers, according to sources at the Passport Department.
Residents who have been “dependents” on their parents’ residency permits will now have to seek independent sponsors and change their professions on their iqamas.
“The Passport Department will not renew the iqamas of residents with dependents aged 25 or above until they transfer their sponsorships and change their occupation,” Mohammed Hussain, a spokesman in Jeddah, told Arab News.
Many major employers, nevertheless, postpone transferring the sponsorship of their new employees, forcing expats to look for temporary Saudi sponsors until their employers deliver.
Hassan Al-Qurashi, a Yemeni expat working for a construction company in Jeddah who is still under the sponsorship of his father as a student, has been trying relentlessly to transfer his sponsorship onto his employer, but the company is in the red zone of Nitaqat. And Hussain is unable to find a temporary sponsor.
Scores of expats think sponsorship obstacles threaten their future in the Kingdom.
“I don’t want to leave Saudi Arabia,” said Khaled Al-Banawi, a Jeddah-born Syrian resident. “I have lived my whole life in the Kingdom. However, I have faced difficulties transferring my sponsorship to my current employer since he has not employed enough Saudis.”
Ahmed Al-Sukeri, an Egyptian expat, said: “As a temporary solution to this issue, I can transfer my sponsorship to a small office in the construction sector,” said. “I am listed as a ‘worker’ on my iqama even though I am actually working as an accountant for another company. I would transfer my sponsorship onto my actual employer, but my boss has deferred the move since we don’t have enough Saudis.”
To transfer, residents must acquire a letter from their new sponsors, which must be certified by commerce and industry chambers, have a copy of their original iqama and passport, fill out a form from the labor office and pay SR2,000 in government fees.