Saudi Passports begins regularising the status of Yemenis living in the Kingdom without legal residency

11 October 2026

Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Passports began procedures on Sunday, 11 October 2026, to regularise the status of Yemeni nationals living in the Kingdom without legal residency. The move implements a directive of King Salman in response to a request from Rashad Al-Alimi, President of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council. Yemenis without identity documents or passports will be granted a free six-month visit visa, booked through the Absher platform. Holders of expired visit visas and visitor IDs whose fingerprints are registered will have their visas extended electronically for six months, provided they hold valid passports. Residents with expired permits and workers reported absent from work who hold valid travel documents can transfer to other employers through Absher, Qiwa and Musaned; Gulf News said the absence category covers workers reported absent before 16 June 2026. The services are offered at designated centres: four in the Riyadh region, two in Makkah, three in Asir, two in Jazan, three in the Eastern Province and two in Al-Jouf.