Saudi Arabia doubles re-entry visa, residency renewal fees: Report

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Saudi Arabia has approved an amendment doubling fees for exit and re-entry visas as well as renewal of residency permit, or iqama, for expatriates who are outside the kingdom, Gulf News has reported.

An iqama is a residence permit that the Saudi Arabian government issues to eligible foreign hires who arrive in the country on an employment visa.

As per the new amendments, the fee for the exit/re-entry visa is Saudi Riyal (SAR) 200 (roughly Rs 4,400) for a single travel of a maximum of two months, with an extra SAR 100 (Rs 2,200) charged for each additional month if the expatriate is inside the kingdom, Gulf News quoted local newspaper Okaz as saying.

Moneycontrol couldn’t verify the report independently.

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The fee doubles each additional month if the expatriate is outside Saudi Arabia and the iqama is still valid, the report added.

For multiple travels of three months, the fee is now SAR500 (around Rs 10,993) with an extra SAR200 (around Rs 4400) charged for each additional month if the expatriate is inside the kingdom.

The fee doubles for each additional month if the expatriate is outside the kingdom within the validity of the iqama. There was no word about the previous fees, the report further added.

An amendment to the iqama, published in Saudi Arabia’s Gazette Umm Al Qura, stipulates that renewing the permit of the expatriate’s dependents and domestic workers, who are outside the kingdom, can be done through the interior ministry’s portal for a fee two times of that is charged if they are inside Saudi Arabia, the report said without giving specific figures.