Title

Saudi Arabia: The Residence Regulations, Law No. 17/2/25/1337

Date of adoption

7 May 1952

Entry into force

4 June 1952

Text versions

Arabic

English

Sources:

– Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accessed: 11 September 2013,

– Refworld – The UN Refugee Agency, accessed: 16 May 2013.

Abstract

Art. 2 states that a foreigner’s entry into, or exit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is contingent upon his possession of a legal and valid passport issued by the government of his home country or a travel document recognized by the government of Saudi Arabia. Moreover a foreigner may not be given permission to enter the country, land on its soil or pass through it unless he holds an entry visa issued by the consular or diplomatic representatives of the Saudi Government abroad or an entry visa issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if the foreigner is coming from a country that has no consular or diplomatic representatives.  However, Pilgrims coming from countries, which have no embassies or consulates (or substitutes) are exempted from the requirement to obtain an entry visas.

Art. 5 enumerates the information that needs to be submitted along with the passport when applying to the Saudi Government’s representatives for an entry visa and to authorities concerned with foreigners, upon arrival in the Kingdom:

i- Purpose of entry.

ii- Money s/he carries upon arrival either cash or cheque.

iii- The party, which will support him financially in case he failed to cover his own personal expenses in the Kingdom.

iv- The name of a person who will sponsor his/her obligations and commitments and guarantee his departure in case s/he is required to leave the Kingdom, or the businessman/company who has contracted him/ her. In case of failure to supply this information, payment of the amount equivalent to the costs of his/her return to the place where the last visa was issued must be made, along with an undertaking to report to the Foreigners Control Office once a week at least.

v- Address in port or country of arrival.

vi- Destination and his address there.

A foreigner who wants to leave the country must submit all his legal documents including passport, residence permit or form and the like to the Foreigners Control Office where his passport will be stamped to exit within a specific time period. If he did not leave within this period, he has to report to the office before its expiry so as to get a new visa stamp either to exit within another specific time period or to stay if he has the right to. In all cases, the duration of an exit visa cannot exceed two months (or three months if extended by the Minister of Interior). This procedure does not cancel procedures followed at the travel bureau (Art. 14 – Amended).

If a foreigner leaves the country within the validity period of the visa granted him by a Saudi consulate or embassy abroad, s/he may not re- enter except with a new visa (Art. 15).

If the foreigner wants to leave the country for a particular period of time during a valid residence period and he requests a return visa valid for no more than six months from his date of departure, then he is permitted to return within the validity period of his residence permit without having to obtain a new visa from a Saudi Arabia representative office. His residence permit must be taken from him upon exiting the country after stamping his passport with the permit’s number and date. The permit is to be returned to him once he returns, after registering the date of travel, destination, and date of return on it (Art. 16).

–    Royal Decree No. M/8 dated 25/7/1415 H that ratifies Ministerial Decision No. 96 dated 24/7/1415 H sets the fee for an exit and return visa valid for one trip to be 200 Riyals.

–    Ministerial Decision No. 53 dated 28/2/1419 H sets the fee for an exit and return visa valid for multiple trips to be 500 Riyals for each visa.

Each foreigner, whose visa was issued by consular or diplomatic authorities abroad and did not meet the required conditions necessary for granting him/her a residence permit, shall leave the country voluntarily within one week. In case of failure or refusal to leave, the Public Security Department shall deport him at his own expense by deducting from the deposit paid upon entry or at the expense of his/ her sponsor as stipulated in Article No. (5) of this Regulation (Art. 27).

In Art. 28 the fees for an entry visa are elaborated as follows:

–    Royal Decree No. M/8 dated 25/7/1415 H which ratifies Ministerial Decision No. 96 dated 24/7/1415 H sets the fee for a visit visa to be 200 Riyals

–    Royal Decree No. M/3 dated 17/1/1420 H that ratifies Ministerial Decision No. 14 dated 17/1/1420 H sets the fee for a work visa to be 2000 Riyals.