Saudi Issues Iqamas in Form of Smart Cards
- Pipeline
- Saudi Aramco News
- Industry News
Author: Aramco ExPats
Released 12 March 2007
The Passport Department has given the iqama booklets a new face in the form of smart cards for foreign workers. These new cards have begun to be issued in most cities including Jeddah, Dammam, Taif, Abha and Tabuk.
There are nearly seven million expatriates in the kingdom. The department first introduced smart resident permits in an effort to prevent forgery and provide efficiency to both Saudis and expatriates. New smart iqamas are issued in only five minutes.
The new smart cards, issued about a month ago, bear the full name of the worker in both Arabic and English, the number, expiration date, photo, date of birth, nationality, profession, religion and the employer’s full name.
Sources said information on the card cannot be tampered with. Smart iqamas are available at passport offices in the holy city of Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabian Airlines in Jeddah, Dammam, Al Khobar, Saudi Aramco, Buraidah, Abha, Tabuk and the Northern Border Province.
Expatriates, who have already received the long-awaited smart iqamas, were happy. “It’s very convenient and very simple to carry, easy to photocopy and difficult to forge as it is computerized with our picture on it,” said Zahid Akbar, a British teacher at Manarat Schools.
The following is from one of our members.
Be sure that you double-check the information on the iqama as it is almost entirely in Arabic; you need to have a native speaker verify it for you.
Of the 8 pieces of information that you have listed above which are on the smartcard, 2 of them were incorrect on my new iqama, including my birth date (wrong month) and my religion. I am Muslim and they listed me as Christian. Since I would not be able to visit the Holy Cities with an iqama that lists me as Christian, I am pursuing it to have it corrected.