New visa regime may up salary cap
The Residency Affairs Sector next week will submit to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmed Al- Nawaf, a new mechanism to organize the issuance of family and tourist visit visas, following the abrupt decision to stop issuing these visas Monday, reports Al-Qabas daily.
Informed security sources told the daily, the residence affairs sector is considering raising the salary ceiling for expatriates who want to bring their wife and children on visit or family visas to 300 dinars minimum and 600 dinars minimum if the applicant wants to bring his parents on visit visa. The sources indicated that the new mechanism will grant broad powers to directors of residency affairs departments in the six governorates, to ease the pressure on the General Administration of Residency Affairs in the Dajeej area, where the number of visitors during the last period reached about one thousand per day due to the withdrawal of the powers of directors of departments.
The sources indicated that Minister Al-Nawaf’s decision to stop family and tourist visits came against the background of receiving complaints about the failure to organize the work mechanism for granting family and tourist visit visas to expatriates.
The sources added, however: “The proposal for a salary cap as a condition for allowing the issuance of visit visas can be increased or decreased according to the Ministry’s vision.” However, the Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources said the decision Minister Al- Nawaf, to stop tourist and family visas, came because people who entered the country during the past months have not left the country and this raised the number of violators by about 20,000.
The Ministry of Interior announced, stopping the issuance of family and tourist visit visas until further notice is to prepare a new mechanism what the ministry called ‘development of work’, while the sources stated that the decision “does not include electronic visas that are granted directly to some nationalities upon arrival at the airport.
The sources indicated “the number of expatriates who entered the country on tourist and family visas during 2022 reached about 70,000,” noting that work is being done to establish a strict mechanism and controls that guarantee the visitor’s departure upon the expiry of visa, as well as not allowing the extension of the visit period which is for 3 months.
The sources indicated that Minister Al-Nawaf’s decision to stop family and tourist visits came against the background of receiving complaints about the failure to organize the work mechanism for granting family and tourist visit visas to expatriates.
The sources added, however: “The proposal for a salary cap as a condition for allowing the issuance of visit visas can be increased or decreased according to the Ministry’s vision.” However, the Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources said the decision Minister Al- Nawaf, to stop tourist and family visas, came because people who entered the country during the past months have not left the country and this raised the number of violators by about 20,000.
The Ministry of Interior announced, stopping the issuance of family and tourist visit visas until further notice is to prepare a new mechanism what the ministry called ‘development of work’, while the sources stated that the decision “does not include electronic visas that are granted directly to some nationalities upon arrival at the airport.
The sources indicated “the number of expatriates who entered the country on tourist and family visas during 2022 reached about 70,000,” noting that work is being done to establish a strict mechanism and controls that guarantee the visitor’s departure upon the expiry of visa, as well as not allowing the extension of the visit period which is for 3 months.