Saudi Arabia starts to issue, renew residency permits quarterly

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The Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), started issuing and renewing the expat residency permits on a quarterly basis, Saudi Press Agency reported.

This is in cooperation with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA), represented by the National Information Center (NIC).

The new mechanism will enable employers to renew residency as well as work permits, after payment of the expatriate fee, for varying periods of three months, six months, nine months, and 12 months, in line with the establishment requirements.

The new service is available on the online platforms of Absher Individual, Absher Business, Muqeem, and Qiwa.

The new mechanism will help private sector entities achieve the optimum cash management, with higher efficiency rates, while boosting the labor market attractiveness and making the contractual relationships more resilient in line with the requirements of the global labour markets.

In January 2020, Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet approved issuance of residency permits for those having work licenses and renewal of these permits at least on a quarterly basis, Argaam reported.