Arab News | Kingdom begins status correction for Yemenis

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports on Sunday began procedures to regularize the status of Yemeni nationals living in the Kingdom without legal residency, following royal directives.

The directorate outlined the categories covered by the initiative and the facilities available to eligible beneficiaries on its official X account.

The first category covers Yemeni nationals without identification documents or Yemeni passports. They will be granted a free six-month visit visa.

Applicants must book an appointment through the Absher platform, select a correction center and attend at the designated time with documents proving their Yemeni nationality, including a passport or travel document issued by the Yemeni Embassy.

The second category covers holders of expired visitor identification cards and expired visit visas of various types who have registered biometric data in the system. Their visas will be extended electronically for six months without requiring a visit to passport offices. Applicants must have a valid passport.

The third category covers residents whose residency permits have expired but whose travel documents remain valid. They can transfer their services to other employers through the Interior Ministry and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s digital platforms, including Absher, Qiwa and Musaned, without visiting government offices.

Those wishing to leave Saudi Arabia can obtain a final exit visa, with no restrictions preventing their return to the Kingdom later.

The fourth category covers workers reported as absent from work.

Those with valid travel documents can regularize their status by canceling the absence report and transferring their services to other employers through approved digital platforms, including Absher, Qiwa and Musaned.

The General Directorate of Passports said that correction services would be provided at designated Border Security System centers across the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Embassy in Riyadh launched online preliminary registration on Sunday, stressing that appointments and registration under the initiative were free and did not require intermediaries or agents.

Appointments can be booked through the Absher platform or via a registration link on the embassy’s website.

Yemeni nationals can book appointments themselves through the General Directorate of Passports’ appointment service on Absher, without necessarily having an Absher account.

The embassy stressed that online registration did not mean the status-correction process was complete.

It said that registration through its website was an initial step to collect and organize details of beneficiaries who needed travel documents. It did not constitute approval of an application or completion of the correction process.

Applicants must complete the required verification procedures and obtain the necessary documents before following instructions issued by the relevant Saudi authorities for each beneficiary category.

The centers include four in the Riyadh region, two in the Makkah region, three in Asir, two in Jazan, three in the Eastern Province and two in Jouf.