Strict enforcement of visit visa regulations
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant-General Salem Al-Nawaf, emphasized the importance of strict enforcement of the law against anyone violating the visit visa regulations that were announced recently.
Visitors violating the permitted one-month stay are initially given a one-week grace period. However, iIf they do not depart after paying the fine following the grace period, they and their sponsors will face deportation from the country.
Regarding the Interior Ministry’s decision to allow residency violators to regularize their status by paying the requisite fines during the period from 17 March to 17 June, ministry sources revealed that so far 652 residency violators have submitted requests to the Residency Affairs Departments to amend their status. Of this total, 366 applied for a modification of their visa status, paid the due fines and applied to obtain new residency permits under new sponsors.
Meanwhile 258 residency law violators left the country following confirmation that they were not wanted by the law or had legal cases pending against them. The remaining 28 expatriates were prevented from leaving after it was found that they owed financial dues to the state, in addition to some having misdemeanor and felony cases registered against them.
Ministry sources explained that there appears to be a misunderstanding among many residency violators that the amnesty allowed them to exit the country without settling the financial dues they owed or without resolving any legal cases registered against them. The ministry clarified that the amnesty is applicable only to residency violators, and does not include those who owe dues to the state, such as traffic fines, electricity bills, municipal and trade violations, or those who have cases registered against them by citizens or residents in the country’s computer system.
The ministry underlined that the three-month grace period for residency law violators allows them to amend their status after paying the fine and complying with the regulations and procedures. They also allow violators who leave the country during the grace period to return with new procedures.
Additionally, violators can exit the country without paying fines from designated ports, provided they have no administrative or judicial obstacles. The ministry urges residency violators with such obstacles to consult the General Administration of Residence Affairs to check the requirements for obtaining residency during this period.
Ministry sources also indicated that residency violators failing to rectify their status or exit the country within the specified period will face legal penalties, denial of residency permits, deportation, and a ban on reentry to the country.
