According to the Saudi newspaper Okaz, the Kingdom has decided to reverse its three-year ban on expatriates who didn’t return before their visa expiry.
The General Directorate of Passports has ordered all departments to allow all such individuals. The Saudi newspaper added that the directive came into effect on Tuesday, January 16.
It is pertinent to mention that the General Directorate of Passports had imposed the ban in 2022. It stated that expatriates who do not return within the specified time will not be allowed to enter the Kingdom for three years.
The Directorate had made it mandatory for the re-entry visa holders to return within the visa’s stipulated time. Failure to do so would require the employer to issue a new visa.
The decision to enforce the ban was taken upon the demands of businessmen, seeking to prevent the reentry of individuals who failed to within the valid period of the exit and re-entry visa.
The demand from businessmen was prompted by the Council of Ministers’ decision, which banned the return of workers who didn’t come back within the specified timeframe.