Saudi: Re-entry Visa Extension Process for Expats Outside
The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) unveiled the mechanism for the extension of exit and re-entry visas of expatriates or their family members who are outside Saudi Arabia.
The extension process must be done electronically by the employer in the case of expatriate workers or by the head of the family in the case of dependents after visiting the designated link for that in the electronic visa portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(https: //visa.mofa.gov.sa/ExtendReturnedVisa).
The following procedures are to be carried out for the extension of the visa:
*The employers or the heads of the family need to specify the period of extension required.
*They need to fill up the electronic form through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs electronic visa services website and validate it electronically.
*They need to provide a valid iqama (residency permit) until after the period of extension.
* Entry of all data must be made in the Arabic language except the names of the visa holder if the person is from non-Arab countries, and the data shall be identical to the data in their passports.
As for the extension of the re-entry visas for wives of Saudi citizens, it can be done through contacting the Saudi embassy in the respective countries regardless of the period of extension as long as the residency permit is valid.
According to the statement, identity verification is done through the unified access portal, which helps speed up the completion of the application procedures automatically without the need to submit it in paper to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Jawazat recently unveiled the mechanism to implement its previous decision to exempt foreign workers from expat fee until June 30, as part of efforts to combat the economic fallout of coronavirus. This will be applicable to the extension of iqama as well as exit and re-entry visa and final exit visa.
The Jawazat said that business owners, who got issued final exit visas for their workers after the expiry of their residency permit, can cancel the final exit visa of their workers and their stay in the Kingdom will be extended for a period of three months without the payment of expat fee.
