JEDDAH, 30 March 2005 — Despite reports to the contrary, there have been no changes in the procedures for issuing passports to women, a source at the Passport Department told Arab News.
Okaz newspaper reported yesterday that women must obtain a personal ID card in order to have a new passport issued for them. The newspaper also claimed that the director of Passport Department for Makkah Region said that the women’s sections in the major cities would begin applying this new system within a few days through the Civil Status Department.
According to Okaz, the changes were made for security reasons to prevent fraud.
“This is not true, and no changes were made in the system for issuing passports to women,” said Capt. Firas Al-Tewayan, director of public affairs at the Passport Administration. “Any changes in the system follow a procedure and have to be approved by the Council of Ministers; it is not done through internal administrative revisions,” he added.
The present system requires women to submit their applications and all necessary identification documents to the Passport Department in their city or to the women’s section of the Passport Department’s offices in Riyadh or Jeddah until sections are opened in other cities.
However, once all the documents, including the consent of the woman’s guardian or mahram, are handed to the women’s section and checked for completeness and authentication they are sent to the men’s section for processing and then returned to the women’s section for pickup.
“Consent by the guardian is still required for a woman to have a passport,” said Capt. Al-Tewayan. Earlier this month, Arab News reported quoting Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication, that a Saudi woman who had a valid passport could apply and obtain her ID card without needing a male guardian. Only in the case of a Saudi woman not owning a passport, does she need a male guardian to verify her identity. However, an official gave Arab News a different explanation.
“A Saudi woman’s passport without the approval of a male guardian would only suffice in a case when she doesn’t have any male guardian,” said Turki Mohammad Al-Malafekh, director general of Jeddah Civil Status Department. “Other than that a male guardian must come in person and apply, provide approval and verify her identity by signing on the back of her photograph,” he added.
“I’m not aware that there will be any changes to the current system anytime soon or any consideration or discussion about changing it,” Capt. Al-Tewayan told Arab News.
In a related development, Nasser Al-Hanaya, undersecretary at the Interior Ministry for Civil Affairs, said plans are under way to use fingerprints instead of photos for IDs of both men and women. “We don’t know for sure whether we could replace photos with fingerprints because the project is still in the experimental stage,” Al-Madinah quoted him as saying.
Hanaya also spoke on the possibility of linking the Civil Department with private and public hospitals to register births and deaths.
“This would help transfer correct information quickly and is important for security reasons,” he said.
