Riyadh: Foreigners coming to Saudi Arabia for employment from all over the world face many difficulties due to ignorance of immigration laws, for which the Department of Legal Affairs has taken important steps.
According to the details, the immigration laws in Saudi Arabia are clear, the agency responsible for the residence card of foreigners, Iqama and exit re-entry, ‘Izhar wa Wauda’ or final exit which is also known as ‘Izhar Nahai’ in Arabic, is Juzaat.
According to the Juzaat Law, there is no fee for final exit, whereas there is a fee for exit re-entry, which is charged on a monthly basis.
A person has inquired if I am residing on a Saiq Khas visa, what is the minimum remaining period of Iqama for final exit?
According to the law of the Saudi Immigration and Passport Department, it is mandatory that the Iqama is not expired at the time when the final exit process is carried out.
The final exit cannot be applied to the expiring amount. If the Iqama is expired and there is a need to leave permanently, then the Iqama should be renewed first, for which now the facility has been provided that the Iqama can be renewed even for 3 months. This facility can be availed.
If there are 10 days left in the final exit period, the exit can be canceled. After the final exit is imposed, the worker has a grace period of 60 days during which he must travel.
In case of canceling the intention of travel during this period, it is mandatory to cancel the exit before the expiry of 60 days.
It is important that the iqama has not expired while canceling the final iqama. In case of expiry of Iqama, non-exit visa cannot be cancelled, therefore it is mandatory to first extend the period of Iqama and immediately after that, cancel the non-exit visa.
A fine of 1000 riyals is imposed in case of expiry of the 60-day period given for final exit and non-travelling.
It should be noted that if the cancellation is made within the final fixed period of 60 days, no penalty is imposed, however, the period of Iqama must remain for this.
A person has asked that he worked as an electrician in Saudi Arabia. He was also registered in the same profession in the Engineering Council. It is to be known that after going to the final exit, he can come on the visa of a mechanic who also has a diploma.
The Ministry of Manpower and Social Welfare requires foreign workers to present professional credentials as per their designated occupation.
Persons associated with technical fields are required to register themselves with the designated (profession wise) technical councils.
In the designated councils, the worker has to take a test according to his profession, after passing the certificate is issued to him which is linked to the portal of the Ministry of Manpower and Social Welfare.
A work permit is issued to the worker only after the successful completion of the test issued by the designated council, after which the process of issuing or renewing the residence is processed.
As far as the question of new visa and coming to another profession is concerned, legally there is no prohibition in it, the worker who legally leaves the country on final exit can come again to the country on another visa whenever he wants.
If no legal action has been taken against him and his record is clean, he can come to the country on another visa whenever he wants.
