Expats in KSA may get 5-yr permit to stay
Saudi Arabia may extend the validity of work permits (iqamas) of foreigners to five years from one currently.
Over 1.3 million expatriate Bangladeshis in the Gulf country will be benefited if the proposed extension takes effect, said officials at Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia.
“It is still in the proposal stage. When they adopt the system, our people will definitely enjoy advantages. They will be able to work freely for a longer time,” Mokammal Hossain, counsellor (labour) at Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah, told The Daily Star over the phone yesterday.
Currently, residency permits are valid for one year and must be renewed for a fee annually.
“The extension of iqama to five years will provide job security to expatriates. It will also help contracting companies to complete their projects on time,” Siddeek Ahmed, a Saudi trader, was quoted by the Arab News as saying.
Maj Gen Sulaiman Al-Yahya, director general of Saudi Passport Department, said there is a plan to change the name of iqama to resident ID and extend its validity up to five years.
Speaking to reporters in Riyadh on Sunday, he emphasised that the proposal would be implemented shortly.
No timeframe has been announced for the move, but passport officials told local daily Al Madinah that the process would start soon, the Gulf News reported.
The move is expected to ease mental and financial pressure on the large expatriate community, including the Bangladeshis, in the kingdom.
On Tuesday, the Saudi Passport Department, however, warned that it would not issue new or renew residence permits unless all foreign workers and dependents over 15 years of age have registered their fingerprints.
Around nine million foreigners, mainly Asians, live in Saudi Arabia, making up one third of the total population, according to the Gulf News.
Reports say that foreigners hold 90 percent of the jobs in the private sector.
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