Manama: Foreigner workers in Saudi Arabia are likely to have the validity of their residency permits extended to five years.
Currently, the permits are valid for one year and must be renewed, for a fee, annually.
Saudi media reported that the Directorate General of Passports is working on the final touches on the plan to introduce the five-year validity.
No time frame has been announced for the move, but passport officials told local daily Al Madinah that the application would start soon.
The move is expected to ease mental and financial pressure on the large expatriate community in the kingdom.
Around nine million foreigners, mainly Asians, live in Saudi Arabia, making up one third of the total population.
Most foreigners are unskilled workers in the construction and service sectors. Reports say that foreigners hold 90 per cent of the jobs in the private sector and that there is one Saudi national for every ten foreigners in the sector.
