'Free movement a great success'

Riyadh: The Saudi passport chief Major General Salem Al Bolaihed said that the agreement signed earlier with Oman for the movement of citizens without passports has been implemented and the experiment has become a great success. Oman and Saudi Arabia signed the agreement in May this year.

Citizens of the UAE and Saudi Arabia will also soon be allowed to travel to both countries without passports. Al Bolaihed announced earlier that the passport directorate had agreed in principle with their UAE counterparts to allow Saudi citizens to travel to the UAE without passports. The agreement was set to be implemented from January 25 last year. However, technical difficulties had delayed its enforcement.

Al Bolaihed also announced that the procedures for the electronic issuance of exit and re-entry and final exit visas for expatriates had been completed.

"The new regulation, which is expected to draw wide applause from the expatriate community, is all set to be implemented soon."

The passports chief said companies could take advantage of the new service in the first phase, and individuals would be able to use it at a later stage.

He also unveiled plans to introduce a new electronic service under which the subscriber will be supplied with SMSs about relevant information with regard to their employees and the expiry date of their residence permits and the like.

Referring to the system for fingerprinting of foreigners, which was recently introduced in Riyadh on an experimental basis, Al Bolaihed said the system had met with some technical difficulties.

"We hope to solve it soon. The system will be introduced in the Makkah region within a few months," he said, adding it would not help solve the overstaying of Haj and Umrah pilgrims on a permanent basis.