Saudi allows 2 months grace for foreigners with expired visa

Dubai, Apr 14 (UNI) Foreigners including Indians overstaying their visit visas in Saudi Arabia have been allowed a two-month grace period an official said. .

The relief came with the government warning that it would impose harsh penalties on those caught overstaying after the "amnesty".

The Kingdom's passport division has announced that after June 1, Saudi sponsors responsible for overstayers would face an SR10,000 fine and six months in prison if the overstayer is caught by the police.

Chief Feras Al-Tuwayyan, spokesman for the Jeddah passport office said the overstayers themselves face an SR100 fine and six months in prison before being deported, press reports said today.

Penalties will be cumulative for Saudi sponsors, he explained adding if the Saudi sponsor had more than one overstayer with expired visa, he will then pay the penalty for each one, and this will increase the time of being in jail for each one as well, Arab News reported Al-Tuwayyan as saying.

Before the new penalties were announced, overstayers on expired visitors' visas were deported without notice to their sponsors after levying SR100 as penalty.

Saudi authorities have been deporting over 1,000 overstayers of different nationalities every day.

UNI