Go to airport 20 days after getting exit visas, expats told

RIYADH: 

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Deportation authorities have requested the expatriates who have received final exit stamps to go to airport after 20 days to leave the country, according to a senior official from the Indian Embassy.

Several Indians who had gone to the airport immediately after having their passports stamped with the exit visas have been turned away by immigration officials.

The diplomat explained that it would take at least 20 days for the visa to be processed in the system. He further said it was in the interest of the departing expatriates to have their biometrics completed at deportation camps because fingerprints are also recorded in the system and that no expatriate would be able to leave the country without them.

In addition to the mandatory requirement of fingerprinting, the outbound expatriates should also ensure that they have no pending credit card payments, telephone bills or traffic penalties. Approximately 500 Indian passports have been stamped with final exits under the ongoing program.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao said that more than 150 major companies have come forward to recruit thousands of Indians. “Many of our compatriots are in the process of changing companies. However, time is now running out. We are only three weeks away from the July 3 deadline.”