The Passport Department has categorically denied any increase in the exit/re-entry fees.
���There is no change in the existing fee structure,��� said Imad Al-Abdulqader, the official spokesman for the department in the Eastern Province. ���We have not issued any circular in this regard.���
Talking to Arab News yesterday, he said: ���As was the case before, a single exit/re-entry visa costs SR 200 and a multiple one SR 500. Nothing more, nothing less.���
On reports about the possibility of any increase in the future, Al-Abdulqader said: ���We cannot speak what is going to happen in the future, but as of now, there is absolutely no change, we have not doubled the visa fee.���
Al-Abdulqader���s statement scotches all rumors that have been circulating among expatriates for quite sometime now.
���It is excellent news for all of us,��� said a relieved Jamal H. Siddique, a longtime expatriate from South Africa. ���For those who have large families like mine, those rumors about the doubling of exit/re-entry fees were quite unnerving,��� he told Arab News.
He thanked the Passport Department for coming out with a categorical statement on the issue. ���It was a hot topic of discussion among all expatriates,��� he said. ���We were continuously badgering our ���mandoob��� to clear the air, but he would just say ���maafi mushkila.������
Abdul Rahman Mutaher, a Pakistani expatriate in Alkhobar, said he knew there was no truth to the rumors because he had gotten an exit/re-entry visa for his wife and children only last week. ���I told my friends about the first-hand experience, but the rumors continued to circulate feverishly,��� he said.
The rumors first started making the rounds when the announcement about the SR 2,400 levy on every expatriate working in non-Saudized private companies was first announced.
Rania Mustafa, a Lebanese teacher in Riyadh, expressed delight at the Passport Department clarification. ���We were sick of these rumors and what had compounded our problem was that there was no official statement denying those rumors,��� she said.
���If the rumors were true, then we had decided not to go on vacation this year,��� said a Jeddah-based Indian teacher Suhail Ziad. ���Doubling the visa fee would have meant that I would have had to dish out SR 2,400 for six members of my family, and with air fares looking skywards I just would not have had enough money to plan our vacation,��� he said.
���Thanking you for breaking this good news,��� said Suleman Yusuf, a Sri Lankan expatriate working in a Jeddah hotel. ���It is a big relief.���
http://www.arabnews.com/rumors-quashed-about-exitre-entry-fee-hike
www.keralites.net          |
To subscribe send a mail to Keralites-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Send your posts to Keralites@yahoogroups.com.
Send your suggestions to Keralites-owner@yahoogroups.com.
To unsubscribe send a mail to Keralites-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Homepage: www.keralites.net
No comments:
Post a Comment