The Saudi Passport Authority has announced that workers of countries barred from entering Saudi Arabia will have their Iqama, re-entry, and visitor visas renewed free of charge by July 31. Earlier, Saudi ruler Salman Raja had ordered a renewal until June 2. According to the order, the deadline has been extended to the end of July. On February 2, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced a travel ban from 20 countries. Saudi expatriates in these countries will be able to renew their expired Iqama, exit re-entry visas, and visas for those who are currently waiting to arrive in Saudi Arabia on a visitor's visa and whose visa has now expired. The Ministry of Finance will bear the cost of updating the documents. Renewal of documents will be done automatically in collaboration with the National Information Center without visiting the passport offices. Currently, people from other countries, including India, are not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia directly because of covid. As a result, many people's iqama, re-entry visas, and visitor visas have expired. A few days ago, King Salman ordered that the deadline for such documents be renewed till June 2, but no one's documents were renewed. The new announcement that the documents will be extended till the end of July has come as a relief to thousands of expatriates who are frustrated by this. The expatriates are praying that the announcement of the launch of a direct flight from India to Saudi Arabia with a temporary travel ban will also be made in the coming days.
