Saudi Passport Department denies 'any change in visa status of Pakistanis'
- By Web Desk -
- Apr 28, 2016
In a clarification issued by Maj. Talal Al-Shalhoob, media manager at the Passport Department in Jeddah, he said “the information was wrong, and that employers decide how many times they issue these visas for their employees. This information can be verified on the Absher website.”
According to Arab News, the Pakistani Consulate also denied the reports, saying that no directives for such a ban had been received from the Saudi authorities.
Earlier, our reporter Mohammad Salahuddin had cited that the Community Welfare Attache in the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh has written a letter to the Saudi authorities inviting their attention towards restriction on Pakistani workers to visit home once in a year.
Pakistan embassy letter had also reportedly sought resolution of the matter.
The embassy has also advised the Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia to contact Pakistan embassy in Riyadh if they are not being given permission by the Saudi authorities to visit home second time in a year.
The Embassy had told Pakistanis that the employees had to submit their letters in the passport and permit companies to seek required permission.
It should be noted that more than two millions Pakistanis are in Saudi Arabia.
According to the data released by the Bureau of Immigration, Saudi Arabia took 522,750 migrant Pakistani workers in 2015 respectively.