JEDDAH, 27 December 2007 — Wives and children of doctors working in the Kingdom can now obtain entry visas from Saudi embassies abroad, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Up till now foreign doctors like other expatriates had to stay in long queues at recruitment offices in the Kingdom to get entry visas for their family members
The new move is expected to benefit more than 7,000 foreign doctors working in the Kingdom. Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani, spokesman of the Health Ministry, welcomed the Foreign Ministry’s decision saying: “This move will certainly improve the working conditions of doctors.”
Doctors in both public and private sectors were happy over the decision. “It is a welcome change and a great help for the medical community in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Abdullah Moopan, general director of Al-Abeer Medical Group.
“It will save a lot of time as doctors need not run after visas for their family members,” he added.
The new move comes ahead of the Health Ministry’s plan to recruit more foreign doctors to provide family health care services. In June, Mirghalani said the Kingdom required at least 2,000 doctors to meet the present shortage.
