One million muqeem cards printed in two weeks

RIYADH: The passport department has printed over a million muqeem cards within two weeks since Oct. 15, and the move is to improve the service as well as curb frauds. “The number of new machine-readable residency cards printed since the launch of muqeem service until yesterday (Nov. 2) was 1,012,300 in all regions of the Kingdom,” a passport department spokesman said on Tuesday, The official said the Directorate General of Passport is committed to easing the task to get or renew the residency permit for those living in the Kingdom through online application. It is not only time saving, but also a security measure that would prevent fraud, he said. The official, however, urged the people not to rush to the Jawazat (passport office) unnecessarily, and instead apply online. The card will be delivered at the given address through the Wasil service of Saudi Post, he said. Many expatriates and Saudi sponsors are still visiting Jawazat and seen in queues due to lack of information, which is not needed after the launch of the hassle free electronic service. Notably, the new card containing details of the beneficiary such as photograph, name, date of birth and occupation is valid for five years, but it needs to be renewed electronically every year and there is no need to print the card every year. Meanwhile, expatriates of different nationalities living in the Kingdom welcomed the passport department’s announcement to launch the multiple visa and sponsorship transfer service online through the Ministry of Interior website, saying it would save time for everyone with the processes going online this week. -arabnews