RIYADH - The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) announced on Wednesday that expatriates from 17 countries facing temporary suspension of travel due to the outbreak of coronavirus will benefit from the recent decision to automatically extend the validity of residency permit (iqama) and exit and re-entry visa without charging expatriate fee or any other fees until March 31. This was in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. These countries include Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Brazil, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini. The Jawazat announced on Monday 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 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.
