Saudi to extend validity of visas until July 31 for expats stranded abroad

On Tuesday, King Salman has directed authorities in Saudi Arabia to automatically renew the validity of residence permits (Iqama), exit and re-entry visas of expats stranded abroad until July 31, 2021.

The General Directorate of Passports has therefore begun automatically renewing these visas at no additional cost to the visa holders.

The residence visa related extensions will only be granted to expats from the 20 countries, the list of which was announced on February 2, from where entry is into the kingdom was suspended as a result of the virus, confirmed state-run Saudi Press Agency.

The General Directorate of Passports begins to extend the validity of Iqama for expatriates who are outside the Kingdom and extend the validity of visit, exit and re-entry visas electronically without fees or charges until 31/7/2021 in the countries from which entry is suspended. pic.twitter.com/gmpjDpWbkC

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) June 8, 2021

The 20 countries include, UAE, Germany, USA, UK, South Africa, France, Egypt, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Swiss Confederation and Turkey.

Read: Covid-19: Saudi Arabia bans entry from 20 countries including UAE, UK and India

In addition, the validity of visit visas for visitors who are in the countries from where entry is suspended as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic will also be extended until July 31.

As of June 8, the kingdom has reported a total of 459,968 Covid-19 cases, including 1,261 cases detected over the previous 24 hours.

#الصحة⁩ تعلن عن تسجيل (1261) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس كورونا (كوفيد-19)، وتسجيل (17) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (922) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (442,782) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/Wj2lz8yBWT

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) June 8, 2021