Let me first express my appreciation for the state-of-the-art facilities introduced by the Ministry of Interior through the Abshir system which allows Saudis as well as expatriates to perform tasks related to the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs online without the need to visit a government office. This is really commendable. One such facility is the exit/re-entry visa facility for the dependents of expatriates. ?However, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the need to remove a bug in the system. ? ?Currently, the ?Abshir ?system allows one to apply for a re-entry visa with the allowance of a 90-day stay in the Kingdom before exit. ? ?This policy restricts the re-entry date unnecessarily while there is still much time left before the expiry of the iqama (residence permit). ? ?This causes much inconvenience to expat employees. The provision of a 90-day stay in the Kingdom after the issuance of the exit/re-entry visa should be optional and not mandatory. ? I would like to propose to the relevant authorities to make the system more flexible so that it is possible for the re-entry date to be 10 days before the expiry of the iqama in order to accommodate parents whose children are studying outside the Kingdom. The Ministry should also consider authorizing Abshir-registered expats to process the extension of exit/re-entry visas of dependents online, as long as they have a valid iqama. Moreover, the renewal of iqamas for two or three years should also be considered by the government.
