Saudi grants six-month visit visa extension for Yemenis

Saudi Arabia has announced that visit visas for Yemenis residing in the kingdom will be extended for a further six months from June 15 – when they are set to expire.

The country’s General Directorate of Passports said that Yemeni expatriates in Saudi will have their visitor ID cards valid for an additional six months starting Thursday, June 15, in line with the directives of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif.

The move is part of Saudi King Salman’s directives to “correct the conditions of Yemenis living in Saudi”, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The Passports directorate, in collaboration with the National Information Center at the Ministry of Interior, has completed all necessary preparations to receive applications from Tuesday, June 13 to Friday, June 23, the report said.

The directorate called upon Yemeni visit visa holders to complete all the relevant procedures to obtain their ID cards.

Saudi Arabia previously extended the validity of visit visas for Yemenis for six months starting in December 2016.

According to reports, thousands of Yemenis are currently residing in the kingdom on visit visas due to the ongoing war in their country.

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen since March 2015, in a bid to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

The conflict has killed thousands and led to a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with seven million at risk of famine, and half of its population lacking access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, according to the UN.