Visit visa conversion rule

The conversion of a visit visa into a permanent residency permit for family members of expatriates is not a rule and can only be done in the rarest of rare cases only with the approval of the Interior Ministry. Col. Mohammed Al-Hussain, spokesman of the Passport Department in the Makkah region, said such procedures fall under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry, not the Passport Department. Al-Hussain clarified the issue after many people approached the department to convert the visit visas of their family members to permanent residency permits or iqamas.