Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced digital services for expatriates to renew their residency permit (Iqama) on a quarter-of-a-year basis and save a copy on their smartphones, local media reported on Friday.
This services is now available on the Absher platform (Absher is a smartphone application which allows citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia to use a variety of government services), which was launched by the minister of interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif on Wednesday.
From October 31, Saudi banks have started updating their government payments system to issue and renew Iqamas which are linked to work permits, for a period of three and six months.
According to the recently updated government payments system, payments of iqama fee can be made on a quarterly or half- yearly basis.
Banks will now accept the payment of work permit fees by the employer for a minimum three-month period or its multiples up to a whole year. The issuance and renewal of iqama are linked to the work permit.
The new Absher services also included renewal of the national ID service, issuance of electronic ID in place of the lost one, driving license, passport services for foster families, and Absher reports service.