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According to Okaz newspaper, the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) has given instructions to let expatriates back into the country, even if they didn’t return before their exit and reentry visas expired. The three-year ban on foreign workers facing this situation has been lifted, starting on Tuesday, January 16.

The ban was initially imposed based on demands from businessmen who wanted to prevent the return of workers who did not come back within the visa’s valid period. These businessmen faced financial losses due to the fees for renewing residency permits, work permits, and return tickets for these workers.

The Council of Ministers supported the businessmen’s demand, stating that workers failing to return on time could lead to contract terminations, causing harm to the businessmen’s interests and affecting the job market’s stability.

Jawazat highlighted certain conditions for issuing an exit and re-entry visa, including the payment of all outstanding traffic violation fines, the absence of violations leading to the non-cancellation of a previously issued and unused visa, the lack of a valid visa, and the individual to whom the visa is issued being present within the country. Other conditions involve the worker’s passport having 90 days or more of validity and the presence of the individual’s fingerprint for whom the visa is being issued.