Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Saudi Arabia cancels 3-Years ban on Expats who failed to return on Re-Entry visa
The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) in Saudi Arabia told all its departments of land, sea, and air ports to let expatriates return to the Kingdom who failed to arrive back on exit re-entry visa before the expiry date of their visa. Trending : How to extend Exit Re-Entry visa while the expat is outside Saudi Arabia
Expat workers who left the Kingdom on an exit and re-entry visa and did not come back before their visa expiry date were no longer banned for three years from the Jawazat. On Tuesday, January 16, the new rule went into effect, according to the Okaz report.
- The 3-years ban was put in place in the Year 2022, because business people asked the authority to stop people from coming back who did not come back within the time limit on their exit and reentry visa.
- The Employer's demand was based on the decision of the Council of Ministers that workers who failed to return back to Saudi Arabia on time would not be allowed to come back.
- According to the demand, some workers actions cost the employers financially because they have to pay for renewing their residency permits (iqama), work permits, and return tickets before their departure. Most Viewed : Flynas is offering Domestic flight tickets from 169 riyals and International flight tickets from 179 riyals
- The businessmen also said that the workers failure to show up on time meant that they would have to break their contracts, which would be bad for their own interests and for the security of the job market.
The Jawazat also highlighted again the following requirements for getting an exit and re-entry visa :
* Worker must pay all fines for traffic violations. Also, there should be no violation that kept a previously granted and unused visa from being revoked.
* The worker does not have a valid visa, and the person to whom the visa is supposed to be given must be in the Kingdom's territory.
* Among the requirements are a worker's passport must be valid for at least 90 days and a biometric fingerprint of the person must be in system to whom the visa is to be issued. Read : Exit Re-Entry visa can be cancelled through Absher account
Saudi Jawazat answered some common questions on this topic :
1. My Exit Re-Entry visa expired, while I was outside Saudi Arabia. Can I return back with a new Work visa, or it is required to wait for 3 years?
* Those who left on Exit Re-Entry visa and did not return, can now enter with a new visa, if they wish to come to the Kingdom.
2. I have an expired Exit Re-Entry visa, Can I return to the services of new employer, or it is required to use the services of the previous employer only?
* It is now possible to return to Saudi Arabia with a new work visa, whether the serives of the previous employer or on the services of the new employer.
3. A private driver outside the Kingdom has an exit re-entry visa and is unable to return. Can his visa be extended?
* The visa of the private driver can be extended on request through the Tawasul service of the Absher platform, during this period the Iqama of the worker must be valid.
4. How long must a worker passport must be valid when requesting to issue exit re-entry visa?
* The passport must be valid for no less than 90 days in order to issue an exit and re-entry visa.
