The Ministry of Interior has launched an electronic service that enables residents to apply for family visit visas electronically through Metrash2 mobile application and MoI web portal.
This comes in line with the keenness of the ministry to use the latest technology and make its services accessible anytime from anywhere, in accordance with the National Vision 2030.
Director of the Expats Affairs Department at the General Directorate of Passports Brigadier Abdullah Ali al-Mohannadi said that the e-application service for family visit visa for residents is added to the services of Metrash2, which exceeded more than 150 services. This comes in line with the keenness of the ministry to use the latest technology and make its services accessible anytime from anywhere, in accordance with the National Vision 2030.
Through this service, an user can upload all the required documents in the allocated fields and can track the status of requests and pay the fees electronically once it is approved.
He added that in the case of missing or non-matching of any attached or requested documents, the applicant will be notified about it to make the required changes.
The applicant will receive the application number to proceed for the fee payment after the application is verified and approved.
This service is specific to the residents for their families including father, mother, wife, children or relatives of the first and second grades. The ministry has introduced this service as it forms a large part of the services provided by the Expats Affairs Department, Brigadier al-Mohannadi added.
The ministry had evaluated the service over the last two months with successful results. The General Directorate of Passports will evaluate the service daily and make further changes in a bid to reduce the number of visitors to the GDP headquarters and service centres.
Brigadier al-Mohannadi called on the residents to submit the family visit visa electronically through the MoI website or Metrash2, as in the next stage the application for family visit visa will be accepted electronically only, instead of any paper transaction.
The Expatriates Affairs Department alone received 15,500 requests for family visit visa last May, while the General Directorate of Passports received 53,000 visa applications in all its service centres. It showed an increase of 27.5% compared to April, when it received 12,200 requests for visas and the General Directorate of Passports received 49,000 visa requests at all service centres.
Director of Expats Affairs Brigadier Abdullah Salim al-Ansari said that the General Directorate of Passports is now receiving requests for family visit to residents through Metrash2 and MoI website, along with accepting applications manually in specific cases.
