Saudi renews resident permits, exit-entry visas for free of cost

Riyadh: As COVID remains the major concerns for foreigners working in Saudi Arabia in matters related to renewal of their staying permissions, the Saudi Passport authorities have made arrangements to extend the validity of residency permits (Iqama) and exit and re-entry visas.

As per the new arrangements, all residency permits and exit and re-entry visas will be validated until March 31, 2022, without charges. The Saudi Press Agency reported statement clarified that the effort is to address the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic being faced by foreigners in the country.

The new system would automatically validate the extension of the related documents in collaboration with the National Information Centre, without the need to visit the passports directorate or the Kingdom's missions abroad.

The validity of residency and exit re-entry return visas will be extended for residents who are outside the Kingdom in countries from which travel was suspended because of a COVID-19 outbreak until March 31, except for those who have already received one dose of the vaccine inside the Kingdom before they departed.