RIYADH – The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) clarified that if the residency permit (Iqama) of expatriates is renewed, then there is no need to carry a printed copy of it.

The Jawazat said that the expatriates, or their dependents, and foreign workers will be able to use their digital Iqama on their smartphone instead of carrying its hard copy if they renewed their Iqama and there is no need to visit the Jawazat office to take a print-out of it.

The validity of the Muqeem ID (Resident Identity) is 5 years from the date of its issuance, and its renewal must be done every year electronically through the employer’s Absher platform.

Fines will be imposed in the event of a failure in the renewal of the Iqama of expatriates, three days after the expiry date. The penalty is an SR500 fine the first time, and SR1,000 in the event of repetition of the delay.

Earlier, the Jawazat allowed issuing of the Iqamas linked to the work permit and renewing it every three months, as a minimum, by the employer.

This is also applicable to the dependents of expatriates after paying the required fees to complete the renewal procedure. Domestic workers and the like are excluded from this procedure.

The Jawazat has allowed split payment of the fee for the work permit, the residency permit, the employee’s levy, the dependent’s fee, and other fees to get issued Iqama.

It is noteworthy that the Muqeem ID of domestic workers can be renewed if its validity is less than 14 months, and for commercial workers, their ID can be renewed if it remains valid for less than 6 months, with the existence of a valid work permit and a valid health insurance policy.

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