Before you go for vacation please hand over your iqama to HR Departmen

Normally, according to your situation you should be granted an exit visa so you can fly out KSA. Nevertheless, as there as some quotas for foreigners, I think they might be manipulating the iqamas. You best check it attentively

its normal ,most of the company take back the iqama when they give u passport

Hi!

Yes my friend this is the regulation in Saudi Arabia, you have to hand over your iqama to receive your passport.

Have a nice vacation

Best Regards,

Ahmed

Yes, it's normal but do take care that if you are going to anywhere in GCC countries, tell them so and keep it along.

No GCC country (at present) grants on-arrival visas if you fail to show your original iqama on border.

25january wrote:

Yes my friend this is the regulation in Saudi Arabia, you have to hand over your iqama to receive your passport.
Ahmed

It's not a regulation; but a common practice which is being marked illegal these days.

Have a look:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/714311 -- Expats have right to keep their passports
and
http://www.arabnews.com/news/715276 -- Cautious welcome to new guidelines on expat passports

bunch of pathetic HR polices...disgraced by this inhumane treatment!

TheLegendLeads wrote:

25january wrote:

Yes my friend this is the regulation in Saudi Arabia, you have to hand over your iqama to receive your passport.
Ahmed

It's not a regulation; but a common practice which is being marked illegal these days.

Have a look:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/714311 -- Expats have right to keep their passports
and
http://www.arabnews.com/news/715276 -- Cautious welcome to new guidelines on expat passports

Dear Friend

Handing over the iqama before leaving Saudi Arabia is a regulation since it will give the employer the right to issue a new visa in case you do not come back

Best Regards,

Ahmed

25january wrote:

Dear Friend

Handing over the iqama before leaving Saudi Arabia is a regulation since it will give the employer the right to issue a new visa in case you do not come back

Best Regards,

Ahmed

Whoa whoa whoa ... where does new visa come from ? there is no such thing has new visa, just exit re-entry extension ... and besides, you need to carry iqama if travelling to GCC for on arrival visa.

Say what~

hamudi wrote:

25january wrote:

Dear Friend

Handing over the iqama before leaving Saudi Arabia is a regulation since it will give the employer the right to issue a new visa in case you do not come back

Best Regards,

Ahmed

Whoa whoa whoa ... where does new visa come from ? there is no such thing has new visa, just exit re-entry extension ... and besides, you need to carry iqama if travelling to GCC for on arrival visa.

Say what~

@25january,
A governmental regulation is defined as something that is a rule or directive made and maintained by a governmental authority.

1- It's not a regulation because it's not written in the Labour Law (easily available in Arabic and English; please read through); nor it's part of any royal decree.
2- A legal court in Mekkah recently issued a verdict that the practice of keeping passports is ILLEGAL.
3- Ministry of Labor has, several times, issued warning to employers to stop this. (see the links I shared above).
4- International Human Rights state that the bearer of the passport is the only person authorized to keep his/her password in his/her custody

Please don't insist that it's a 'regulation'. It's a common-practice; or say it's part of weird HR policies. There is a huge difference between the two.

And yes, as @hamudi also said: There is no relation between returning Iqama to the employer and getting a new visa. True!

hamudi wrote:

25january wrote:

Dear Friend

Handing over the iqama before leaving Saudi Arabia is a regulation since it will give the employer the right to issue a new visa in case you do not come back

Best Regards,

Ahmed

Whoa whoa whoa ... where does new visa come from ? there is no such thing has new visa, just exit re-entry extension ... and besides, you need to carry iqama if travelling to GCC for on arrival visa.

Say what~

Hi Friend!

I weekly travel to Bahrain with my Passport only and I have never been asked about my Iqama in Bahrain or Saudi gate.

If some one leave for re-entry visa and do not come back to Saudi, the employer has the right to submit an application for a new visa instead of the one he already lost, one of the mandatory documents to accept his application is the Original Iqama. This is the regulation I used to deal with since I have been working here for 9 years and I am in charge of a Company and I faced situation like this before.

Best Regards,

Ahmed

25january wrote:

I weekly travel to Bahrain with my Passport only and I have never been asked about my Iqama in Bahrain or Saudi gate.

If some one leave for re-entry visa and do not come back to Saudi, the employer has the right to submit an application for a new visa instead of the one he already lost, one of the mandatory documents to accept his application is the Original Iqama. This is the regulation I used to deal with since I have been working here for 9 years and I am in charge of a Company and I faced situation like this before.

Best Regards,

Ahmed

Lord have mercy that you are in charge of company and such rule is applied ...... If a person fails to return after leaving on a re-entry visa, he/she can go to local embassy of their country and get an extension done depending on circumstances and that happens.

No company can apply for new Iqama if the person fails to return, besides, new rule I read a few weeks back that if anyone fails to return i.e. intentionally doesn't come back, then they are banned for 3 years.

Jigga wake up and run things the way it should be, I definitely feel sorry for people working in your company.

Better yet, why don't u travel in the near future, post a blog about it with proof...I'd love to see ur new iqama.

Hahaha this topic was once discussed with one of the BIG chap of our HR organisation and this was his reply,

You should not travel or take your IQAMA out of the country. The reasons given was, that during your fun trip you can misplace it or you can try to make a duplicate IQAMA and I shd keep the IQAMA with them in their safe custody and I was like WTF. Although I never did that and never had any issues travelling with it anywhere. Infact it helped me to prove once at a GCC hotel in a different country that ME and MY LADY are actually husband and wife !! Lol

@TLL - welcome back to the blog after hibernation. Good to see you

saimans wrote:

@TLL - welcome back to the blog after hibernation. Good to see you

Thanks @saimans

TheLegendLeads wrote:

4- International Human Rights state that [b]the bearer of the passport is the only person authorized to keep his/her password in his/her custody[/b]

True!

Above statement is clearly stated in the passport

Yes. it is required that you surrender your iqama to your company since it is their property as your sponsor.
besides you will be issued an Exit/Re-Entry Visa before you go outside KSA. But i suggest to have your iqama photocopied for your reference, just in case.

please remember that, if you are travelling within GCC countries they are requiring a copy/original iqama at the immigration counter.

there is also a previous memo (printed on the back of the old booklet type iqama) that you cannot roam around KSA holding both your passport and iqama. It's either your passport (with Valid ERE Visa) or your iqama.

If you are travelling to UAE or QATAR and expecting on arrival visa , if you don't present Origional Iqama, your entry will be refused. they no longer accept copy of Iqama.

Hi,

I travel to Bahrain more 3 times a week and they DO ask the original iqama whenever they feel like.
Even in QATAR and Emirates border, you cannot request for on arrival visa until you produce the ORIGINAL iqama.
And the iqama keeping tactic is just another HR red tape.

Hope this helps.

It is a correct instruction. The company  will suffer without the rights of replacement if we fail to return after vacation due to some reason or other.  It is the Government's rule to issue fresh entry visa for replacement only on the production of the iquama which is the only document in place of exit certificate endorsed by immigration.