Jawazat introduced a facial recognition system for immigration in Saudi Arabia. A facial recognition system uses technology to identify or validate a person based on a digital image. In Saudi Arabia, the General Directorate of Passports has implemented a Facial Recognition System in addition to Biometrics to ensure the identification of visitors.
It also makes monitoring and controlling guest departures and arrivals easier. According to a local daily, the General Directorate of Passports for Saudi Arabia is increasing the use of Biometrics to speed up the processing of travellers and make it easier to track and manage visitor arrivals and departures.
Al Yahya Statement on Facial Recognition System in KSA
Director of Jawazat Major General Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Yahya stated that the organization has begun employing “eye-scan technology” and is working on a facial recognition system to detect people entering the nation illegally as well as those who have overstayed their visas. Before recent revisions made it possible for travellers to prolong their stay to six months, visits to the country were only permitted for three months.
According to Al-Yahya, one-way Jawazat may assist with attempts to boost foreign investment in Saudi Arabia is by making travel simple. He said, “We can’t attract investors while our services are poor, or we have complicated procedures. We always review our procedures to ensure our services meet our guests’ satisfaction.”
Implementation of Facial Recognition System in KSA
All visitors to Saudi Arabia are required to provide ten fingerprints, and according to Al-Yahya, all but 4,000 of the estimated 12.2 million legal expatriate residents have registered their fingerprints with the Directorate.
Using biometrics technology to ensure safe borders, according to Gloria Guevara Manzo, president, and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), represents the industry’s single most significant opportunity in 2018.
Benefits of Facial Recognition System in Saudi Arabia
This new facial-recognition system will be able to recognize new arrivals or illegal residents, complementing the existing eye-scan technology used for immigration checks.
When a disaster hits, the new technology can also help identify hospital patients or deceased individuals who lack identification documents or passports.
Conclusion
With this new technology being implemented, the immigration process in Saudi Arabia has become easier for the government. They can now identify the individuals residing in the Kingdom and any illegal or unlawful residency.
I am Saif. I am the founder and chief writer for his own website called KSA Expat Guide and a freelance writer and web developer for many other websites. I live in Saudi Arabia as an ex-pat. Love to research all about KSA. I use my spare time to learn new things, travel, and write about them, especially when it comes to technology and things from the past.