Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — There will be a grace period of three days before the fine of not renewing iqama (residence permit) on time is imposed, according to the passport department (Jawazat).

A fine of SR500 will be charged for delaying iqama renewal, Al-Madina Arabic newspaper quoted the Jawazat as saying on Sunday.

The Jawazat also said that there will not be any fee for transfer of data (naqal malumat) from old passport to the new one.

It said the fine for canceling the exit-reentry visa after it has been issued is SR1,000.

The fee for the renewal of iqama of foreign wife of Saudi husband is SR500 a year.

Meanwhile, the joint campaign to pursue and arrest violators of the residency (iqama) and labor regulations netted 24,000 violators in the past three days.

Of those arrested, 15,702 were violators of the residency (iqama) regulation, 3883 were violators of the border security regulation, and 4353 were violators of the labor regulations.

About 42 percent were apprehended in Makkah, 19 percent in Riyadh, 11 percent in Asir, 6 percent in Jazan, and 5 percent in the Eastern provinces.

The number of people arrested while trying to enter the Kingdom illegally across the borders totaled 394.

There are 8,433 violators detained at the Expatriates Administrations and facing measures according to the regulations. Of these, 7491 are men and 942 are women.

A total of 25 Saudis have been detained for being involved in transporting or sheltering expatriate violators.

The violating expatriates will be imprisoned for six months, fined SR50,000 and deported to their home countries after fingerprinting them so that they don’t come back to the Kingdom.

More than 700,000 expatriates have benefitted from the grace period and left for their respective home countries.