Saudi extends exit, re-entry visas of expatriates

The General Directorate of Passports in Saudi Arabia has started to extend the validity of exit and re-entry visas of expatriates that expire between February 25 to May 24 for an additional three months.

The free extension includes expatriates working in the commercial and industrial sectors inside the country whose visas were not used during the period of suspension of entry and exit through Saudi ports, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The extension will be done automatically in cooperation with the National Information Centre and the Ministry of Finance, and does not warrant the need to visit the passport headquarters.

Beneficiaries can log in to the Absher platform to view the status.

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 spread, Saudi Arabia had extended the suspension of all international passengers flights to the kingdom – excluding exceptional cases – until further notice.

Domestic passenger flights as well as buses, taxis and train activities, were also suspended.

Read: Saudi extends suspension of international and domestic flights, buses, taxis

The kingdom has reported a total of 2,932 cases since the outbreak of the coronavirus late last year, which includes 631 recoveries and 41 fatalities.

According to the Ministry of Health, the kingdom could see a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks, with the number of cases ranging from “10,000 to 200,000”.

The kingdom has already enforced an evening curfew throughout the country, with a 24-hour curfew imposed in some cities including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Read more: Saudi imposes 24-hour curfew in several cities including Riyadh, Dammam