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Post by the_only_way_is_up on Jan 30, 2013 18:15:18 GMT
Evening all, I predict that my current passport will be out of pages by the end of the year... I'm travelling to the UK in March and plan to get new passport when I'm there (same day express service thing). My only concern with this is will I have any problems when I return to Saudi? I'll be arriving via Bahrain/causeway. I notice my entry/exit visa has my current passport number on it. I will have both passports with me but as the old one will have been cancelled, will they let me back in? Don't want to get stuck the wrong side of the border. :shock: I know I could apply for a new passport from here but I'd rather not be without it for 6 weeks and don't trust it in the hands of postal services here. If anyone has any experience with this i'd be grateful to know... Thanks  |
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Post by vpainter on Jan 30, 2013 20:44:22 GMT
Talk to the passport office. Coming from the U.S. we have gotten a new passport and our KSA visa was in our old passport. We stapled the two together and we reentered the country. But that was 5 or 6 years ago and procedures change all the time.
Aramco also has a passport on call person for the DMM airport, be sure to have his number when you come in.
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Post by CathyAitken on Jan 31, 2013 8:16:50 GMT
Unless things have drastically changed since I retired, I always renewed my passport in Saudi Arabia. The Passport Office had the necessary forms to fill in and they sent it to Riyadh for renewal and also transferred the visa and work permit. Aramco paid, so no high one day fees in the UK!
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Post by GroveWanderer on Feb 1, 2013 19:12:34 GMT
Unfortunately, British passports can no longer be issued in kingdom. Currently, UK passports for British citizens living in Saudi Arabia are issued in Germany and the guidelines say to allow 4 weeks for processing.
According to the latest info I have, in another couple of years, all UK passports will be issued in the UK.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Feb 1, 2013 19:17:43 GMT
Going back to the original question of whether you would have a visa problem on returning with a new passport, my experience is that it should be OK. Both my wife and daughter have returned here with new passports which did not have their Saudi residence visas in them, while carrying their old passports. On both occasions, it took around twenty minutes extra to come through immigration control, while they transferred the visa information into the new passport.
As previously mentioned though, best to check with the passport office in case things have changed.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Feb 12, 2013 19:11:23 GMT
OK, that info was a little outdated - the change came in already. As of February 11, 2013, UK passports for UK expats living in Saudi Arabia (and most other countries) are to be issued in the UK.
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Post by GroveWanderer on Feb 14, 2013 5:47:17 GMT
Confirmation of this from a news article.
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Post by azraeil on Mar 4, 2013 6:09:13 GMT
Shouldn't be a problem. The immigration will stamp something on the new passport and once you get to Aramco, you just need to go to the passport office to have them do something on their side as well. They will transfer the visa paper to the new passport.
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Post by vpainter on Mar 4, 2013 13:39:57 GMT
When you get a new passport, carry both the new one and the old one with your visa. Once you are back in kingdom, then have the visa transferred to the new one.
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Post by mkh278 on Mar 4, 2013 15:10:11 GMT
Is it not possible to get from the Authorities some kind of ID card, confirming your immigration status? is it only in a "sticker to passport" format?
thanks
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Post by GroveWanderer on Mar 4, 2013 19:13:37 GMT
You do get a kind of ID card confirming your residence status, it's called an iqama. However you can't use it to travel in and out of the country, that's what a passport is for. As in most countries granting residence to foreigners (that I am familiar with) your passport has to have information in it, showing that you are enled to reside in the country.
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Post by vpainter on Mar 7, 2013 21:50:15 GMT
KSA resident visas are letter size papers that are stapled into the back of your passport. Do be careful not to lose it. It can be folded in such a way that passport control does not have to unfold it each time.
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