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
February 12,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 12: Hinting at the possibility of a consolidation of ex-Janata Parivar leaders, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda said Tuesday his party was open to talk to any former Janata leaders, who are at present either in various factions of the Janata Dal or in Congress and BJP. The veteran leader also appreciated Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP's way of work.

At the party's National Executive Committee meeting held here, Gowda said that some ex-Janata Parivar leaders had reached out to him in this regard. His comments come at a time when JD(U) leader Mahima Patel recently rekindled the debate of a unified Janata Parivar.

However, Deve Gowda was clear that he was not interested in pursuing anyone who was happy with the party they were in. "It's a waste of time to pursue someone who has seen success within their party. I am not going to do that. I am willing to persuade only those who are not holding any office at present," he said. He added that he had already asked party leaders in Kerala to take the initiative and figure out ways to bring leaders together. As for other places, it would take him some time to reach out people, he added.

The party, which organised the National Executive Meet here on February 10 and 11, spoke of strategies to rejuvenate the party from the grassroots level. The party is also conducting a membership drive.

'Much to learn from AAP'

There is much to learn from Aam Aadmi Party, which registered a victory in Delhi elections on Tuesday, said Devegowda. "Kejriwal has showed that caste does not matter. There is lesson to be learnt from the work done by AAP," he said. Later in the day, Deve Gowda also wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal, congratulating him on his victory.

On the occasion, the party also came up with resolutions to urge the central government to release pending amount of GST it owed to state governments apart from focusing on development of labour, industries and agriculture; to demand the centre to rollback decision on CAA, NRC and NPR and to urge the centre to pass the women's reservation bill.

At the JD(S) National Executive Meet, even as news poured in about the victory of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi elections, the JD(S) leaders celebrated Arvind Kejriwal's victory. Seeing it as an optimistic sign for regional parties across the country, the leaders distributed sweets to mark the hat trick win of Kejriwal.

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News Network
January 16,2020

Haveri, Jan 16: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday hinted at inducting 16 MLAs into the Cabinet which was due for expansion despite the fact that it was a difficult task.

Participating in a function of Choudayya Community here, he further said one should understand the difficulty faced to undertake cabinet expansion in the prevailing situation and whoever gives suggestion should understand the circumstances otherwise the statements would lead to confusion among the community and people of the state.

He stated that 'as many as 17 MLAs resigned to make me Chief Minister and now their community people want their leader to become Minister, it is very difficult to satisfy all of them'.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Mangaluru, May 4: District Health Officer Dr Ramachandra Bairi on Monday said that a special team, comprising of six members, has been constituted to find the source of Corona infection in Dakshina Kannada .

The team is expected to file its report by May 6. It is still not clear if Bantwal was the source was the infection or not.

He said 1st phase of investigation in this regard is complete and the samples taken on the 12th day will give a clear picture.

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