“We won’t consider applications for these services without fingerprints,” he said on Tuesday. About eight million expatriates work in the Kingdom, mainly for private companies. Experts say that fingerprinting would help combat forgery and prevent the entry and exit of criminals.
The system, which has been successfully tested for a trial period, will also be introduced for Saudis at a later stage. Maj. Gen. Salim said fingerprinting is the best method of verifying people’s identity. “It is the most important sign that distinguishes people,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Salim urged employers to ensure their workers’ fingerprints are taken when applying for iqamas. “They should approach passport offices across the country without delay to complete the fingerprinting of their workers,” he said.
“The Passport Department also plans to introduce the system for Saudis,” said Capt. Faras Al Tuwaiyan, Director of Media Affairs at the Passport Department. He said that the department has already installed fingerprinting systems at its offices across the Kingdom, including the holy city of Makkah, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha, Al Ahsa, Taif and Unaizah in Qassim Province. “It is easier to introduce the system in small cities where the number of expatriates is much smaller compared to big cities like Riyadh and Jeddah,” he said.
Capt. Al Tuwaiyan said the department would rent buildings in major cities to put up the large number of expatriates, who will come in to complete the process. Passport officials may also visit big factories and companies to provide the service. He said there were some difficulties in introducing the system at entry points as the process would take three to four minutes for each person, causing delays in completing immigration procedures.
“To solve this problem we have decided to take fingerprints of guest workers while issuing their iqamas or providing other services,” he said. The Passport Department has also announced plan to open a branch office at the second industrial city in Riyadh shortly. “We are now putting final touches to the new office by providing it with necessary equipment and manpower,” said Maj. Gen. Saleh Al Khudair, director of passports in Riyadh. “It will be a model office and extend electronic services,” he added.
