From 1 July, expats living and working in the Kingdom will have to pay the Saudi government SAR100 (£21, $27, €24) each month per dependent including children and domestic staff.
The fees were expected to be paid annually when a residence permit is sent for renewal, however, last week Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that expats looking to leave the Gulf state this summer for holidays will have to pay the new levy in advance.
According to the Saudi Gazette, many expats have reported problems using the online system to pay the new tax, including failures to update the system once the fee is paid and the cancellation of visas without any explanation.
Over 2.2 million dependents were registered on the system last week, and according to the publication, the regional passport office in Jeddah is witnessing a “huge rush of expats” confused over how and when the new levy needs to be paid.
Under Saudi’s visa system, known as iqama, expats leaving the country must pay an exit and re-entry fee for themselves and their family members.
Visas cancelled
In one case, an expat who works in Riyadh complained that the Saudi government had cancelled his wife’s visa, required for her return from a family holiday in London, despite the fact that it had been arranged prior to 1 July and was valid until 20 August.
“I took a two-month single entry exit-reentry visa in June. I returned to the Kingdom one month before the expiry of my visa.
“However, my wife remained in London. When I checked her visa status on the Muqeem (visa) website, I was shocked to find that that her visa which was valid until 20 August had expired,” the man told the Saudi Gazette.
He was then forced to pay the dependent fee for his wife, which took more than two days to register on the online system before her visa was subsequently approved.
The dependent fee applies to wives, sons, daughters, parents, wife’s father or mother, house workers, and drivers who are registered under the name of a sponsor, usually where expats work for commercial companies.
Exit visas
Meanwhile, other who had already arranged an exit visa to leave the Kingdom prior to the fee coming into force have been told they must pay the dependent levy for any outstanding months remaining on their visas.
Indian worker Mohammed Fayaz told the publication he had to pay the expat tax for his wife and child up until their residents’ permits expire, despite them having permanently left the country before 1 July.
He said he was only able to obtain his own exit visa after paying the fee.
