Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — As many as 9,000 adult Saudi women have obtained their passports through the Absher electronic portal, without seeking the consent of their legal guardian.

This is in addition to issuance of 5,000 passports for Saudi women through the document submission in passport offices in various cities across the Kingdom, according to the sources at the Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat).

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Yahya, director general of Passports, opened the counters of Jawazat to facilitate procedures for obtaining passports for women in Riyadh.

“This step of the Jawazat in the Riyadh region comes as a continuation of the strategy currently in place to render its services, by opening new outlets to serve all segments of the Saudi society, including citizens and expatriates in a much easier and simpler way,” he said.

Noura Al-Asmari, director of the section for women at Riyadh Jawazat, said that the section has been offering the services of issuing and renewing passports for Saudi women who were unable to complete the procedures through the Absher online system.

“If any women encounters any obstacle for the issuance or renewal of passport through Absher they can set up an appointment with the Jawazat office through the Ministry of Interior portal on the link https://www.moi.gov.sa to finalize the procedures. Their passports will be delivered through the Saudi Post mail called “Wasel”.

The Ministry of Interior, represented by Jawazat, has started issuing and renewing passports for Saudi women aged 21 and above via Absher since August this year.

This was in implementation of the amendments approved by the Council of Ministers in the Civil Status and Travel Documents Regulations with regard to allowing adult Saudi women to travel without permission of their male guardian.

Those citizens, who want to make a new passport or renew their passport, can contact the Department of Passports after securing an appointment for availing of the service, the Jawazat statement had said.

The regulatory changes stipulated that a Saudi passport should be issued to any citizen who applies for it and that any person above the age of 21 does not need permission to travel.

They also granted women, for the first time, the right to register child birth, marriage or divorce and to get issued official family documents and eligible to be a guardian of children who are minors.