Even though more than 1.7 million Saudis have registered in Al-Muwatin e-portal to open the Citizen's Account by Friday, many are reporting difficulties registering their non-Saudi husbands and wives. Adel Al-Nasser said his wife is not Saudi and he believes this is why he is facing issues while trying to register her on the portal. "When I enter my wife's muqeem (residency) number, the date of birth option only displays the dates in the Gregorian calendar and not the Hijri. Then I receive a message saying the information given does not match the civil record," said Al-Nasser. Social Development Director Majed Al-Essaimy said the system is functioning very well. "We have received complaints from Saudi husbands that they are unable to register their non-Saudi wives and we received complaints from Saudi wives who said they are unable to register their non-Saudi husbands," said Al-Essaimy. He also said the department has cooperated with 426 charities, committees and development centers to help the elderly and people with special needs register in the portal. "More than 1.1 million of the people registered on the e-portal have completed all of their information. The department will not ask for any documents at this point. Users will be required to submit their documents at a later stage," said Al-Essaimy. The account has been established to help Saudis cope with the rising costs of living especially when the subsidies on fuel, electricity and water will be lifted later this year.
