There's a very old children's game called, “Simon says.” In that game, whatever “Simon” says, the players have to do. But if “Simon” doesn't give an order and a player attempts to do the action anyway, that player loses. This weekend my family discovered that in Saudi Arabia there's a new version of “Simon says.” It's called, “The System says,” and it's a very painful game to play. Last Friday, my family and I woke early and by eight that morning we were driving down the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain. We were looking forward to a happy day in Manama, discussing which movie to see and whether to have Chinese or Japanese food for lunch. It being the weekend, there was a rush on the bridge. More than an hour passed before we reached the Saudi immigration point. That's when the game began. “The system says your exit/re-entry visa is expired,” the officer at the Saudi border told my husband. “You must turn back.” “No, that's impossible,” my husband objected. “Here's the paper from the General Directorate of Passports showing that the exit/re-entry was just issued in Rajab, the seventh month. This is only Shawwal, the tenth month. It's a six month multiple, how could it be expired?” “The system says, it expired ten days ago. I see what the paper reads, but there's nothing I can do,” replied the officer. “Park your car on the left, go to counter number one and talk to the supervisor.” Like a drop of water on the hot Causeway pavement, our happy trip evaporated. At counter number one the supervisor explained that according to the system, the multiple exit/re-entry had only been issued for three months not six months. It didn't matter that the paper claimed the visa was good for six months. All that was important was what the system said. There was nothing to do but have a new exit/re-entry visa issued by the sponsor. That's when the system slowdown kicked in. First it was necessary to pay the SR200 for the exit/re-entry permit. Unfortunately the Internet access on the Causeway was so unresponsive that the bank's website kept timing out before the payment went through. The only thing to do was to call another family member at home and get him to make the payment using his PC and bank account. Next, the exit/re-entry permit had to be issued through e-services at the Ministry of Interior's web portal. Half an hour later, that was managed. Back we went to the Passports officer on the Causeway. The system said that there was a single exit/re-entry visa and we were soon on our way. If the situation had happened at the airport, it's likely we would have missed our flight. On Monday a new multiple six month exit/re-entry visa was issued. Checking the Ministry of Interior's portal under “Public Query of Exit/Re-entry Visa Status,” the system says my husband can travel into and out of Saudi Arabia for the next six months. This is fair warning to anyone travelling from Saudi Arabia to check and be certain what the system says in regards to an issued Saudi exit/re-entry visa. Don't consider that the permit is correct and valid until reviewing all its data fields online. The information provided by the system is all that matters.
