RIYADH, 6 December 2003 — Saudis can now pay their passport fees through ATMs as part of the second phase of the Kingdom’s e-government program.
The ministries of the interior and finance and Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation (ARABIC) are partners in the e-government program.
Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Sajeeni, director general of the Passports Department, said the service is now available in Riyadh and will be extended to other cities gradually.
Sajeeni also urged Saudis to replace their old passports with the new ones, which have barcodes. “The validity of the old passports will end after five months from now and they will not be accepted after that period,” he said.
The second phase of the Kingdom’s e-government plan has seen introduction of electronic payment of traffic fines, while web-enabled Haj and Umrah services in the Kingdom and abroad are in the pipeline.
Abdullah S. Al-Rajhi of ARABIC told Arab News other Internet-based services will include renewal of Iqamas and transfer of sponsorship for expatriates, payment of fees for the change of profession, and addition of the expatriate’s wife or child to his Iqama.
Early this year, the Ministry of Haj started its conversion into an e-ministry to provide web-enabled Haj and Umrah services and facilitate access to various government organizations.
As part of the e-government plan under the second phase, the Haj Ministry is setting up a one-stop portal facilitating interaction between various organizations in the ministry. There will also be link sites to various ministries. But the website is still under construction.
