E-platform for expatriates to fly home from Saudi Arabia

Expatriates who have been issued with an exit/re-entry visa or final exit visa and wish to fly to their home countries can now submit an online application through the Absher platform, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday.

The requests will be reviewed and, when approved, applicants will receive a text message containing the details of their flight date, ticket number and other reservation information.

Based on this information, the expats can then buy the air tickets. Those who apply must provide a residency number (iqama), date of birth, cellphone number, the city they will depart from and the airport they wish to fly to. A registered Absher account is not required to submit the request.

Flights will depart from Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam. People who live outside the departure cities will be given enough time to reach them after requests are approved.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, which has increased its reliance on digital services during the COVID-19 crisis, revealed that since March 16 it has recorded 746 crimes unrelated to the pandemic. In addition, there have been 508 incidents of people failing to adhere to preventive measures designed to slow the spread of the virus, and 485 cases involving people who filmed or posted online video footage of curfew violations.

“The penalty for filming and posting curfew violations amounts to five years in prison and a SR3 million ($800,000) fine,” said Majid Al-Dasimani, a Public Prosecution spokesman. “The penalty for commercial cover-up (abuse of regulations relating to business ownership) is a fine of up to SR1 million as well as a two-year prison term, in addition to revoking the commercial registry, shutting down the firm and deporting expat workers.”

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced 1,141 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number to 12,772. Of these, 10,846 are still active and 81 critical. The Health Ministry said an additional 172 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,812. A further five people have died, raising the death toll to 114. The five latest victims were expats in Makkah city between the ages of 50 to 76, most of whom were suffering from existing chronic illnesses.

With Ramadan about to begin, Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly urged all Muslims to continue to follow precautionary measures such as social distancing, avoiding handshakes, washing hands frequently, maintaining good personal hygiene and not sharing personal belongings, including praying mats. However, he stressed that social distancing does not mean emotional distancing.