Police Checkpoints in Riyadh - advice please

Nothing to worry about, just have your passport and a copy of your iqama if possible, as for where you were and what you were doing it isn't any of their concern but in the same time you don't need to get into details with them but if you needed to just give them the basic as for you were at work and heading home or vise versa. worse comes to worse just say you dropped your friend off if its not the same way to work or home and that's it.

enjoy your weekends and week days.

thanks for your response Will

does everyone else agree?  that there is no risk for me travelling in a licensed taxi and being stopped at a checkpoint

would really appreciate some other views

many thanks

Policeman was just doing his job by asking you what were you doing and its pretty normal. Perhaps he was trying to check that you are not riding the taxi by force.

elephantjuice wrote:

Hi everyone

was hoping you all could advise me on the following:

I am a Filipina girl in Riyadh and have  a British bf who is also in Riyadh.  I live in company accommodation and he lives in a compound.

sometimes I will spend the weekend with him, we have a proper licensed taxi that picks me up and drops me off.  last week after leaving his place there was a police checkpoint further up the road and he stopped the taxi I was in.  I had my passport with me, my iqama was with my company, and I gave it to the police man.  he asked me what I did and even though he couldn't speak English and I don't speak arabic we managed to communicate I was a nurse and on my way to work.  he then let me proceed on my journey.

The problem now is since this happened I am really worried that next time it could be worse.  this was my first time being stopped at a checkpoint.  can anyone tell me what the risks are for me travelling like this? 

My bf is telling me that there is nothing to worry about.  that as I am in a proper taxi and had ID everything is fine.  that the police a normally looking for people with no ID, drunk or under the influence or travelling with a non relative.

I am really scared that next time maybe they will ask where I have been and what I have been doing.  I don't want to be arrested or deported

thank you all for your advice

Thanks for sharing your escapades in Riyadh. Just be careful of the haia. They are can be more of a problem than the police at times.

elephantjuice wrote:

Hi everyone

was hoping you all could advise me on the following:

I am a Filipina girl in Riyadh and have  a British bf who is also in Riyadh.  I live in company accommodation and he lives in a compound.

sometimes I will spend the weekend with him, we have a proper licensed taxi that picks me up and drops me off.  last week after leaving his place there was a police checkpoint further up the road and he stopped the taxi I was in.  I had my passport with me, my iqama was with my company, and I gave it to the police man.  he asked me what I did and even though he couldn't speak English and I don't speak arabic we managed to communicate I was a nurse and on my way to work.  he then let me proceed on my journey.

The problem now is since this happened I am really worried that next time it could be worse.  this was my first time being stopped at a checkpoint.  can anyone tell me what the risks are for me travelling like this? 

My bf is telling me that there is nothing to worry about.  that as I am in a proper taxi and had ID everything is fine.  that the police a normally looking for people with no ID, drunk or under the influence or travelling with a non relative.

I am really scared that next time maybe they will ask where I have been and what I have been doing.  I don't want to be arrested or deported


thank you all for your advice

You need to be careful. You are living in a country where gender mixing is a big NO NO! specially when you are not officially related to each other. Usually the police check point will not bother you if you have all your documents, even if you are stopped. But be very careful from Haia, as they are always on the look for something like that. You mentioned your bf is a british national, so chances are that you will not be bothered much but its always better to be safe then sorry. He lives in a compound, go visit him in compound but do not roam around the city together unless it is necessary. If you have to, try to go out in day time. Most of Haia patrol gets active after maghrib prayers so chances of encountering Haia in daytime is less. And do not under estimate them that you can get away if caught. They are very good at what the do and they are well known for it.

Good advice above, especially not being with a non-related male in public unless absolutely necessary, and you're taking him to the hospital. One other thing; is there a mall near the compound? You could say, if they really insist, that you were meeting co-workers there.

And they aren't there just to catch you out. The police always become more active at this time of the year, probably looking for drunk drivers, and I'd prefer there not to be any on the same stretch of the road as me. I was stopped last weekend, gave my ID and a big smile and got a 'Have a great day!" and a big grin back. I was tempted to add 'Merry Christmas' but bit my tongue, ha ha.

Oh don't worry about it at all. Seriously it's no big deal. The cop probably wanted to see if you're in trouble with the cab driver etc. Also, don't look frightened. Confidence is what gets you through everything.

its not wise to involve urself in all these relationships in saudi arabia. its always full of risk.

Hey There!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
It can be scary when you are unsure of procedures of a new place. Don't worry. First as other people have mentioned, as long as you have your passport or Iquama with you, you will be fine at a police checkpoint. This is news for me, so I'll watch out for them. As for being with a non married man ...I would follow the previous posts above. good advice.
Thanks for talking about the police checkpoints. I thought the traffic cops on the way to work in the morning were looking for stuff.

Canadian_Timmy wrote:

Hey There!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
It can be scary when you are unsure of procedures of a new place. Don't worry. First as other people have mentioned, as long as you have your passport or Iquama with you, you will be fine at a police checkpoint. This is news for me, so I'll watch out for them. As for being with a non married man ...I would follow the previous posts above. good advice.
Thanks for talking about the police checkpoints. I thought the traffic cops on the way to work in the morning were looking for stuff.

The traffic police or the normal police are usually not bothered about with whom you are. They will ask for IQAMA or ID and most of the time not looking for "stuff". The safest bet is to cover your face and sit on the front seat. I was born and raised in the kingdome and never in my life I have been stopped or have seen anyone stopping an expatriate who is having a female with covered face on the front seat
Haia on the other hand are on the look for this kind of stuff. But as I said, it is a safe bet to roam around in day time rather than the evening time..

thanks for all the advice everyone, its really appreciated.

Just to clarify, we are not travelling together in the same vehicle.  I will get a legitimate taxi to and from his compound alone.

I see from the above that this shouldn't cause any problems even with the haia, as I will be alone.

nobody can  guarrantee  what's gonna happen  in the future. so, you just need  to hope that  the  thing  you  hate is not gonna  happen  anytime soon.
Good luck!