RIYADH - The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) has started automatically extending the validity of residency permit (iqama) and exit and re-entry visa without charging expatriate fee or any other fees until March 31, 2022. This was in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday. Expatriates who are from countries facing travel ban due to the outbreak of coronavirus and who are now outside the Kingdom will be the beneficiaries of this initiative. Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan issued an order in this regard. The Jawazat stated that the extension will be carried out automatically in cooperation with the National Information Centre without the need to personally visiting any Jawazat departments. The extension will not be applicable to those expatriates who took one dose of coronavirus vaccine within the Kingdom before their departure on exit and reentry visa. The King's directive also include extending the validity of visit visa issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visitors who are outside the Kingdom and who are from countries facing travel ban as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus. The period of extension will be until March 31. This extension falls within the government's continuing efforts to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic. It also falls within precautionary measures and preventive protocols that ensure the safety of citizens and expatriates and contribute to mitigating financial and economic impacts of the pandemic. It is noteworthy that on Jan. 21, the Jawazat said in a statement that it had started automatic extension of the validity of residency permit (iqama) and exit and reentry visa of expatriates, as well as that of visit visas to 10 days after Jan. 31. This would be applicable to those expatriates and visitors who are from countries facing temporary suspension of travel following the outbreak of coronavirus.
