New expatriate students wishing to join public schools in the Kingdom must have residency permits valid for a period of at least two academic semesters, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Education.

This requirement is stipulated in a circular issued by Deputy Minister of Education Khaled Al-Sabti to the heads of all education departments in the Kingdom.

According to the decision, any student who has received an official high school or technical certificate is not permitted to repeat these studies at schools in the Kingdom.

Those who have not completed their studies must provide a formal statement saying that they did not obtain their diploma as their studies were interrupted. The statement must be issued by the Ministry of Education or its equivalent in their home country.

The minister stressed that all school principals must exclude those students who have no residency permits in the Kingdom immediately from completing the first and second semester exams, except for reasons of short travel not exceeding two weeks.

Students or their guardians must log on to Interior Ministry’s website Absher to print their proof of entry and residency data during the semester of study and submit it to the school four weeks before the start of the first or second semester exams.