Saudi, being a largely insular country (notwithstanding the many millions of pilgrims that make the journey to visit the two holy mosques in Mecca and Madinah) has very strict immigration rules. As an expatriate worker, i have to hold with me at all times my residence permit (Iqama) or my passport, failure to do so is an offence that would get me arrested.
The UK has for many years talked, often controversially about the compulsory issuance of ID cards, now i am not suggesting that the model here should be viewed as a best in class representation, but it is in stark contrast to the existing UK immigration policy in that getting in and out of the country for any reason is entirely at the discretion of the authorities, and a lack of proper documentation completely forbids it.
I personally fell foul of such procedures when recently trying to leave the country for a vacation, and this was because, as my sponsor, my company has to obtain a visa on my behalf to allow me exit and subsequent re-entry. Such visas are single-use in most cases, and whilst the country is largely paper-based in it’s beaurocracy, it’s visa processing is both paper and electronic, and should anything not match, you will not travel, and in my case, the paper was fine, but the visa was not valid on the system. There was no right to appeal, there was no protracted argument, simply a statement that i was not travelling that night.
Now this was simply for a temporary exit from the country – the process for finally exiting the country (a different visa) is something i can’t help but feel is a good idea; Once you have been granted the residency permit (Iqama) you have the right to obtain credit, buy a car, get a driving license etc etc. This Iqama is linked to your passport, and consequently all your financial and criminal activity is associated to your passport. As my sponsor, my company has a financial responsibility for anything i may owe upon exiting the country, so a final exit visa will not be issued if i owe anyone anything, or have any unpaid traffic tickets etc. I for one do not see this as an infringement of my civil liberties, I think it’s absolutely appropriate.
In the end, i managed to get a replacement visa and travelled the following evening. As it happened i was met at passport control with the same man I’d been turned away by the previous night, he had a bit of a laugh at my expense and set me merrily on my way – again something i can’t see as a bad thing.
