Saudi Arabia Announces People Eligible for Residency Permit Without Paying Fee
- The Saudi Council of Ministers passed royal decrees waiving government fees for displaced populations from neighbouring countries
- The fee waivers cover residency permits, work permits, and outstanding fines accumulated before the decree took effect
- The provisions give vulnerable groups a window of several years to legally regularise their status inside Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia has identified specific groups of displaced persons who qualify to establish legal residency in the country without paying the fees that ordinarily apply to migrants and foreign workers.
The Saudi Council of Ministers passed a series of royal decrees that fully waive government charges for displaced populations arriving from neighbouring countries.
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Under the provisions, the Saudi state takes on the cost of residency permit fees, commonly known as iqama fees, as well as work permit charges.
Who benefits from the fee waiver
The decrees go further than simply covering future costs.
Displaced individuals who had previously accumulated fines for residency violations are also covered, meaning outstanding penalties built up before the royal decrees came into force will be cleared under the arrangement.
The provisions give eligible displaced persons a window spanning several years to come forward and formally regularise their status.
The intent is to allow vulnerable populations, who may have been living informally inside the kingdom, to bring their situation in line with Saudi law without facing the financial barrier of standard government fees.
What the waiver covers
Specifically, the fees absorbed by the Saudi government under these royal decrees include:
1. Residency permit (iqama) fees
2. Work permit fees
3. Previously incurred residency violation fines
Saudi Arabia has periodically introduced amnesty and regularisation programmes targeting undocumented migrants and displaced populations, particularly those from conflict-affected countries in the region.
The latest decrees represent a formal policy commitment, backed by the authority of the Council of Ministers, to ease the path for displaced groups seeking lawful status in the kingdom.
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Source: Legit.ng
