Expats advised to carry re-entry visa printouts

[email protected] (Arab News)
October 27, 2013

Expats_advisedRiyadh, Oct 27: Foreign airlines based in Riyadh have advised travel agents in the Kingdom to tell their customers to carry a re-entry visa printout with their passports when they travel abroad.

The announcement was made following complaints by expatriate workers returning to the Kingdom after the Eid holidays who were denied boarding by airline officials for not having re-entry visa information on their passports.

Officials of foreign airlines said Saturday that they have already advised their agents to inform travelers about the new requirements expected from passengers at the embarkation points.

In September, the Passport Department began issuing multiple entry visas to the Kingdom with an official stamp on the passport. However, many airline officials have demanded visa printouts or other forms of authentication to certify that passengers are in possession of valid visas to enter the Kingdom.

A printout can be obtained only when a single entry visa is issued electronically, but multiple entry visas are issued at the Passport Department. The visa is recorded in the system and an official stamp is placed with only the visa number.

Ruwan Wijekone, Sri Lankan Airlines manager for the central province, said the airline has advised agents in the Kingdom that passengers should carry the visa printout with them. He pointed out that if an airline allows a passenger to board without a valid visa, it has to incur unwanted expenditures such as return fare for the passenger, fine and allied expenses for his stay in the Kingdom till he is deported home.

“We are only taking a precautionary measure, which is carried out in the interests of the passenger as well as the airline,” he said, adding that checking the veracity of the visa online is impossible when the airline has to check in over 300 passengers of a Saudi Arabia-bound flight.

Speaking to Arab News, Sri Lankan Ambassador Vadivel Kirshnamoorthy said that he would advise the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) to make arrangements to help people who come to the airport without the entry visa printout. He said the SLBFE, which has a special help desk at the airport for incoming and outgoing workers, could handle this matter smoothly.

Currently, officials at the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) do not have a system to track the Saudi entry visas of workers who leave the country. All Lankan foreign workers are expected to register with the SLBFE on a nominal registration fee for which a wide range of services are offered to its foreign workers.

Speaking from Colombo, an official of the Saudi Arabian Airlines said that it has deployed a special officer at the Colombo International Airport to assist such cases. The officer concerned goes online to check the visa status and acts accordingly.

“We also have an Arabic translator at our ticketing office to check the visa status of passengers,” he added.

Mohammed, a passenger who came from Dubai said the Saudi Arabian Airlines officials at Dubai airport were kind enough to check his visa status through the MOI online service and allowed him to board the flight although he did not have a visa slip.

To find out the visa status in the official website of the Ministry of Interior, one must either have the visa number or the sponsor's number.

Comments

mohammad minhat khan
 - 
Wednesday, 7 Sep 2016

need re Entry Visa
in the saudia Arabia

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News Network
March 26,2020

Mumbai, Mar 26 : A 28-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his younger brother for stepping out of their home during the COVID-19 lockdown in the western suburb of Kandivali, police said on Thursday.Rajesh Laxmi Thakur killed his younger brother Durgesh after the latter stepped out of the house despite repeated warnings about the lockdown on Wednesday night, an official from Samta Nagar police station said.

The deceased, who was working in a private firm in Pune, had returned home following the coronavirus scare, he said.When Durgesh got back home after his outing, the accused and his wife shouted at him and a heated argument ensued, following which the accused attacked him with a sharp object, the official said.The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, he said, adding that a case of murder has been registered against the accused.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 28: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol on Ssturday said the coronavirus epidemic has reached the third phase and cautioned people defying the lockdown orders.

"Today the coronavirus epidemic has entered the third phase. By and large people are cooperating," he told reporters at Bagalkote.

The deputy chief minister said there were some people defying the lockdown orders by roaming in groups without wearing masks.

He said he has directed the district authorities to take stringent action against them.

Karjol also said the government has taken adequate measures for the treatment and prevention of this disease.

Steps have been taken for door-to-door supply of grocery items in Bagalkote, he added.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 25,2020

Bengaluru, July 25: A 105-year-old person from Bengaluru’s Basaveshwar Nagar, who was under treatment for covid-19 at a hospital for past five days, breathed his last today. He was a former government account who retired in 1973. He was the oldest known covid-19 patient in the state so far.

Many members of the patient's family are said to be infected and are hospitalised at various facilities. The funeral will be overseen by two uninfected family members.

The patient 74411 died on Saturday morning at around 9 a.m., said Dr Prasanna, Managing Director of Pristine Hospital And Research Centre where the former was admitted.

“The patient was initially doing well when he admitted on July 20. He did not have significant lung changes when he was admitted. However, after three days, his blood pressure started to drop so he was put on oxygen in the ICU. Yesterday morning, with continued deterioration, he was placed on non-invasive ventilator support,” Dr Prasanna said.

“Finally, by last night, his oxygen saturation levels began to plummet abruptly and we had to intubate him for ventilator support. His condition continued to deteriorate, however. The cause of death was respiratory failure and the onset of sepsis,” he added.

Although earmarked for supplies of Remdesivir by the government, the hospital did not receive the drugs. An appeal to Dr K Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education by the hospital staff resulted in an assurance that the medication would arrive. “However, in the end, we had to source the medication ourselves on Friday,” medical staff said.

Dr Thrilok Chandra, Head, Critical Care Support Unit (CCSU), which oversees the care of critical or vulnerable-aged Covid-19 patients, had said that Patient 74411 had been diagnosed early. “He was identified when the disease was still in the early stages in his body. He only had symptoms of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), so the symptoms were not severe,” Dr Chandra had said.

“It’s very sad. We were rooting for him to pull through. He had no comorbidities at all. He had been bed-ridden from last year, but he was healthy. His only potential comorbidity was his advanced age,” Dr Prasanna said.

According to government data, 34% of Covid-19 fatalities in India are aged between 60 and 74 years of age. Fourteen per cent are aged above 74.

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