Saudi Arabia increases the cost of re-entry visas and residence renewals

There is now a Saudi Riyal (SAR) 200 (approximately Rs 4,400) price for an exit/re-entry visa, with an additional SAR 100 (Rs 2,200) fee assessed for each consecutive month an expatriate is present in the country.

cost of re-entry visas and residence renewals

According to Gulf News, Saudi Arabia has authorised an amendment tripling the cost of exit and re-entry visas as well as renewing the iqama, or residence status, for expats living outside the country.

The Saudi Arabian government grants qualifying foreign recruits who enter the nation on a work visa an iqama, which is a form of residency permission.

Gulf News cited local daily Okaz as saying that under the new revisions, the exit/re-entry visa costs Saudi Riyal (SAR) 200 (approximately Rs 4,400) for a single trip of up to two months, with an additional SAR 100 (Rs 2,200) payable for each consecutive month while the expatriate remains inside the kingdom.

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If the expatriate is outside Saudi Arabia and the iqama is still in effect, the price increases each extra month.

The cost is now SAR500 (about Rs. 10,993) for repeated trips of three months, with an additional SAR200 (roughly Rs. 4400) fee assessed for each month the expatriate remains inside the kingdom.

If the expatriate is outside the kingdom within the iqama’s valid period, the cost doubles for every extra month. The report also stated that there was no news regarding the earlier costs.

The interior ministry’s portal will allow expatriates to renew the permits of their dependents and domestic workers who are outside the kingdom for a fee that is two times what is charged if they are inside Saudi Arabia, according to a report without specific figures. The amendment to the iqama was published in Saudi Arabia’s Gazette Umm Al Qura.

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