RIYADH — The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) announced on Thursday that expatriates from 19 countries facing temporary suspension of travel due to the coronavirus pandemic will benefit from the recent decision to automatically extend the validity of residency permits (iqama) and exit and re-entry visas without charging expatriate levy or any other fees until March 31. These countries include Turkey, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar, Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and Nigeria. The Jawazat announced that it has started automatically extending the validity of iqama and exit and re-entry visa of expatriates who are from countries facing travel ban and who are now outside the Kingdom. The Jawazat stated that the extension will be carried out automatically in cooperation with the National Information Center without the need to personally visiting any Jawazat departments. The extension will not be applicable to those expatriates who took one dose of the coronavirus vaccine within the Kingdom before their departure on re-entry visa. The King's directive also includes extending the validity of visit visas issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for people who are outside the Kingdom and who are from countries facing travel ban as a result of the pandemic. 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.
