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Family visa now linked with salary
P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News


JEDDAH: The Foreign Ministry will issue permanent resident visas for wives and children of expatriate workers in the Kingdom, without considering their profession, Al-Yaum Arabic daily has reported.

“The ministry’s office in Riyadh issued such recruitment visas for three days last week and stopped it temporarily. It is expected that the ministry would resume the service next month,” a ministry source told the paper.

The news is a relief for many of the seven million expatriate workers, who are unable to bring their families on resident visas due to their profession written on their iqamas.

The Foreign Ministry and the Recruitment Office only issued permanent resident and visit visas to those in white-collar jobs such as engineers, doctors and executives. The Al-Yaum report said the ministry would only look at the financial status of the applicant. “The family visa is no more linked with profession,” the source said. He said the ministry stopped processing applications in order to implement the new criteria. “This is a great news for thousands of professionals like me who are unable to bring their wives and children to the Kingdom because of the profession in iqama,” said Shabeer Ali, a computer engineer based in Jeddah.

Ali said he has been trying to bring his family to the Kingdom ever since his marriage. “Until now I could not, because they look at the profession on my iqama, which is an electrician. I had presented my Masters degree certificate in computer science attested by the Saudi Embassy, as well as my salary certificate, but they rejected my application,” he said.

He said he had never known about this problem before coming to the Kingdom.

“I know that there are thousands of expatriate workers who are highly qualified and earn good salaries but cannot bring their families because of their profession. I take this opportunity to thank the Saudi government for changing this policy and consider it a great blessing from God.” The Arabic daily said the ministry’s branches in Jeddah and Dammam have not implemented the new system as they have not been informed about the changed criteria.

Over the past three weeks, the ministryÂ’s Riyadh office was issuing visit visas to all expatriate workers for their families without considering their profession.

K.C.M. Abdullah, a freelance journalist based in Riyadh, told Arab News that hundreds of people, including laborers, farmers and construction workers had benefited.

“Now they have stopped issuing visas to drivers and other house servants,” he pointed out. Some people claimed the visa rules were relaxed to mark the return of Crown Prince Sultan to the Kingdom after a yearlong medical trip.

Abdullah said the ministry used to accept around 800 applicants daily, adding over 1,000 people stood in the queue from early in the morning to present their applications made through the ministryÂ’s website.

He said the revised service started a week before the Eid Al-Adha holidays.

After hearing the news of the relaxation in visa rules a large number of Indian workers approached the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and consulate in Jeddah to include names of their spouses in their passports.

Indian missions are now issuing new passports after including spouse names. People who want to include the names of spouses should attach attested marriage certificates. Those who have married recently should register their marriages by producing relevant documents.

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I think it is great decision as it will help to pour more cash into the country instead of sending it back home!

Still people who are living here for ages (30 years +) are not issued permanent resident cards (free iqama). I heard about this will happen soon, but the SOON has yet to come.
I think people who have invested here in KSA should be given such facilities. Because they are not going to return to their countries and are hoping to settle here.


Like me for example spent 24 years here and wish to spend more


By free iqama i mean SPONSOR-free(independent)

this seems to be a really good news... I wonder how much time is it really gonna take to apply these new norms.


BTW if person is earning somewhere b/w 17-20K SAR per month. Is he eligible to bring his family ???

I also think it is high time now, after more than three long decades of expat inflow, that thge Saudi Government scrap the Exit/Re-Entry System for travel in and out of the Kingdom.

After that, it may also be prudent to streanmline the Resident Visa (Iqama) System to remove the hold the sponsor has on the employee with very little room for redress if and when oppressed.

Surely, we now do have the technology and wisdom to track people and their whereabouts?

Guess I'm bringing this thread back from death but was wondeirng if this rule actually got implemented?

Anyone with a non-supervisory profession on their Iqama managed to get their family in KSA?

There are plenty floating around, daredevil
Where theres a Till theres a Way!

i'll take that as a yes

Actually a very good friend of mine ended up in Riyadh with a 30K SAR/month package but as an 'electrician' on his Iqama. He has been trying to pull some strings to change the profession on his iqama to have his family with him to no avail. Have forwarded this news to him, hope it works for him.

It's still not in effect, but head over to the ministry and you'll see a few people outside who will be able to get the job done.

Just tell him to do the paperwork and go there, he'll find someone when he gets there. And if it doesn't work, you can always get the 2G's you spend back.

One way to do it is to seek the assistance of his Embassy to change his profession on his passport first and then have it changed on his Iqama with the help of his sponsor.

In Pakistan they do not put your profession on your passport, its determined by the work visa.

Guess i'll pass on beezer's advice.