How to Update Passport Information In Absher | Naqal Maloomat

Ahmad Muhammad

5 months ago

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Naqal Maloomat is the process of updating passport information In Saudi Arabia by visiting the Jawazat office or doing it online using Absher. If your passport details have expired and are not updated in MOI then you won’t be able to travel outside KSA.

You can update passport details in Absher using the Tawasul service for yourself and your family members.

Naqal Maloomat – Who Is Eligible to Do It?

First, let me clarify who can do naqal maloomat.

For expatriate workers, The sponsor/employer is responsible.
For Dependents: Because you are the sponsor for your dependents, you have the right to update the details.
Your employer can do naqal maloomat for you and your family members.
Foreign investors and Previliged iqama holders can update their passport data in Absher.

Conditions To Update Passport Information

There are some conditions to update passport in Absher which are as follows;

The passport must have 12 months or less to expire
The service on Absher can be accessed only once every 5 years for each passport
You will not be able to update passport information if any traffic violation is unpaid
The resident’s status in the Ministry of Labor (MOL) shouldn’t be “Absent from work“
Applicant’s fingerprints should be registered in Jawazat.
If the passport has already expired then Visit Jawazat office or use the Tawasul service

The workers and residents can update their passport information only through Tawasul Service in Absher as per the Jawazat Instructions. Now, the Naqal Maloomat service available in the “Family Members” section is only accessible by the Privileged iqama holders and foreign investors

Update Passport Information In Absher Through The Tawasul Service

The passport information is updated in Absher through the Tawasul service nowadays. You will get the following error message if you try to access the service available in the “Family Members Services” section.

“Sorry the service can’t be continued. Please send a request to the passport department through Tawasul.”

1-Accessing Tawasul Service

Login to your Absher account https://absher.sa/
Click on ‘Services’ under ‘My Services’ section
Now select ‘Passports’
Click on ‘Tawasul’
Select ‘New Request’ Shown under the Tawasul service

2-Submitting Passport Information

You have to fill out the following details.

Sector: select Update and Extend Passport from the drop-down list
Service: click on Update Passport problem
Request Description: Write a simple request for naqal maloomat as follows.
- “Please update the passport information (تحديث وتمديد الجواز) for one of my dependents. The iqama number of the dependent is 2XXXXXXX and the version number is XXXX. I am providing the data in a PDF file. Kindly update the data in your system. Thanks”
Attachment: Upload the required documents (listed below) through a pdf file.

3-Uploading PDF File

Now you have to create a file to upload the following passport data which is listed below. Furthermore, You can upload data of one family member at a time. Otherwise, you may see the following error message.

“Sorry, You cannot submit this request. Description exceeded the allowed limit.”

If you want to do naqal maloomat of more than one family member, then you have to create a new request in tawasul for each one.

The file size should be less than 1MB, and the format can be PDF, JPG, PNG, or JPEG. Moreover, the file name must contain only one word

To keep the size under the given limit, you can use an online tool and make a PDF file with the following documents.

Colored copy of old passport
Colored copy of new passport
Dependent’s Iqama copy

Now upload the file and click on ‘Submit Request‘
Click on ‘Confirm’ on the next page
The following message appears on the screen upon successfully submitting the request to update the passport.

“Request is submitted successfully with number XXXXX”

The naqal maloomat process usually takes 1-2 days. You can check in Absher whether the information has been updated or is still pending.

Things To Consider

While updating the passport information it is very important to take care of these things;

The pdf file size should not be more than 1MB in any case.
The file name should consist of only 1 word. You can name the file in the name of your dependent.
Upload passport data of only 1 dependent at a time. To do naqal maloomat of another family member, you can create a new request in Tawasul as soon as the current request status changes to “Resolved”.
The uploaded images should be colored, readable, and free of blur.

How to update passport information in Absher For Privileged Iqama Holders and investors

As I mentioned above the “Update Resident Passport” service available in “Family Members Services” is now only accessible to privileged iqama holders and investors.

Therefore if you fall under any of the said categories then you can update your passport in Absher by following the procedure given below.

Login to your Absher account https://absher.sa/
Click on “Family Members” section
Now select the “Sevices” tab and click on “Update Resident Passport Information”
Click on “Proceed“
Select the “Family Member” whose passport you want to update.
Enter the following information
- Passport Update Type: Select “Update Renewed Passport”
- New Passport Number
- New Passport expiry date
Optical Character Recognition: Enter the first 10 digits of the code written at the bottom of the first page of your passport.
New Passport Issuance Country: Enter your home country name
New Passport Issuance City: Select the Capital city of your home country.
Recheck the details and Click on “Update Passport Information“
“The passport has been updated successfully” The screen will show the message upon successful naqal maloomat.

Naqal maloomat by Employer for employees’ passport

As your sponsor has the right and access to update your passport information through the Muqeem portal. So just request the authorized person in your company to do naqal maloomat. It hardly takes a few minutes for the whole process.

Furthermore, If there is any mistake in updating the passport information, your employer can correct it.

Naqal Maloomat for Visit Visa Holders

A visit visa holder can do naqal maloomat incase his passport is about to expire. However, he will update passport information by visiting Jawazat office and the following documents will be required.

Jawazat appointment slip
Download and fill out naqal maloomat form (in Arabic language)
Original and Copy of new passport
Original and copy of old passport
Visa copy
Sponsor’s iqama copy ( if applicable in case the applicant has a family visit visa)

Visit the Jawazat office on the appointed date and time. Submit your documents and wait a bit. In a few minutes, the officer will update your passport information in the Ministry of Interior system.

Since the form is in Arabic, you can take help from the people sitting outside the Jawazat office who will fill the form for a very small fee.

How To Update Passport From Outside Saudi Arabia

There is a clear instruction to update passport from outside KSA and it states,

” The resident for whom the passport is to be registered must be inside the Kingdom”

In that case, the iqama holder ( either the family head, a family member, or a worker) must come back to the Kingdom on the new passport especially if the expiry is less than 1 month.

Keep both, old and new passports together and staple them
Get the immigration stamp on the new passport.
Ask the employer or the family head to do naqal maloomat

Common Errors

While updating passport in Absher you can face some common issues. I am mentioning them below.

Updating Passport Information Failed

If the naqal maloomat fails you will see the following message;

sorry! you cannot update the passport information. please visit Jawazat for more information.

It is a very common mistake and occurs with many people. In that case, you have 2 options.

Visit any Jawazat office near you to manually do naqal maloomat
Submit a complaint to the General Directorate Of Passports Jawazat

Visit Jawazat- General Directorate of Passports For Naqal Maloomat

If you decide to visit Jawazat, then you need the following documents

Book Jawazat appointment
Old and new passports
3 Iqama size pictures
Fill out the Passport update form correctly. You can get help from the people sitting outside the office. They may charge you 20 or 30 riyals.
Submit your documents. In a couple of minutes, you will receive the confirmation message.
You can check it by visiting your Absher account and find out if the information has been updated or is still pending.

Place A Complaint To Jawazat

This process is Obsolete now as there is no option available to place a complaint to the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) in the Absher. Instead, you should now use the Tawasul service as described in this guide.

Before placing the complaint, you need to prepare a few things to submit in the portal. You need to prepare a single PDF file containing all the required documents. To do that you need,

Old and new passport of the dependent
First of all, take a screenshot of the error and save it
Iqama ( Your’s and dependent)

Make a single PDF file and then,

Visit the Absher portal through a laptop or PC and log in by using your credentials.
Now, on the main menu type Messages and Document in the search bar.
You can also access the service by clicking the services button in “My Services” Tab. Then click on General Services and select Messages and Documents.

Now you need to select the service and other settings as follows,

To General Directorate Of Passports
Select Service Name: مشاكل تحديت معلومات جواز السفر و نقل معلومات
In Subject, write Update Passport Information
In the message, write the problem you faced. You can write something like,

” Assalamo Alaikum, . Best Regards”

In a week or two, Jawazat will resolve the issue and you can update the information online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I update my passport details myself?

You can update the passport information, Naqal Maloomat of your dependents by using the Absher portal. However, your employer is entitled to update the information for your passport unless you have a privileged iqama or an investor visa.

How can I transfer my Saudi visa to new passport?

If you are traveling to Saudi Arabia and have both passports, the old one having the stamped visa and the new one. At the airport, the immigration officer will do the procedure and let you enter the Kingdom. But make sure that you keep both passports.

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