Over 30,000 requests for domestic visa transfer

In the wake of the decision by the government in July, allowing the transfer of domestic worker residency permits (Article 20) to the private sector (Article 18) residency permit, the General Administration of Residency Affairs has reportedly received over 30,000 transfer requests over a one-month period from mid-July to mid-August, with around 10,000 requests being completed so far.

The ‘Residency Affairs’ department at the Ministry of Interior is said to be coordinating with the Public Authority of Manpower to accelerate the pace of transferring workers between the two sectors, before the transfer deadline ends on 12 September.

The transfer initiative has given domestic workers a fresh impetus to upgrade their financial status, as well as fill the labor shortage in the labor pool, due, among other reasons, to the deportation of over 80,000 residency violators in the past several months. The initiative is expected to revive the labor market, especially in the construction sector, which is witnessing growth in terms of building new residential cities.

On a related note, the ‘Residency Affairs’ department issued about 70,000 entry visas, distributed between commercial, tourist and family visas, over the past six months. The new visas are in line with the decision of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef and his call to consider the humanitarian aspect in reuniting families of residents.

The number of those who were issued a ‘family joining’ visa for the wife, and children under the age of 15 reached about 12,000, among those who met the stipulated conditions for a family visa. A further 20,000 applications are said to be still under review.