Jeddah: The visa procedure in Gulf countries is strict, and sticking to its rules to avoid infractions is always recommended, regardless of circumstances.

In most situations, expatriate workers' dependents—children and wives—pay a high price for no fault of their own. In the most recent case, a six-month-old Telangana newborn who had been stuck in Saudi Arabia for almost a year and a half due to a visa extension issue has been reunited with his family. Her parents were faced with the impossible job of demonstrating that it was not their fault.

For the past five years, Mamidala Ramyakrishna of Hanmakonda has worked in a hospital in Saudi Arabia's eastern province. On September 30, 2019, in Warangal, she gave birth to a girl named Samantha.

Ramyakrishna chose to bring her newborn baby to Saudi Arabia, so she applied for a visit visa for her and took her into the country a month after she was born. The woman had applied for an extension of her daughter's visa after it had expired and had been granted online. According to Ramyakrishna, this was not reflected in official documents, and hence the visa expired.

Panicked by the situation, the working mother sought out the relevant authorities, describing her efforts and providing electronic documentation, including screenshots indicating that the infant visa had been extended.

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Even though flights were suspended due to the coronavirus, Ramyakrishna was running behind officials in Hassa, Dammam, and Riyadh, where she was told to pay a penalty of 15,000 Riyals for herself and another 15,000 for infant Samantha for the same offence. The whole amount of 30,000 Saudi Riyals is almost Rs 6 lakh in Indian currency.

Ramyakrishna, who looked after young children and worked with patients, didn't leave any stone unturned in her quest for a redress of her grievance. In the process, she met Latheef Thechy, the president of Pleace India, a Saudi Arabia-based NRI organisation. According to Pleace India, Thechy brought their case to a Riyadh-based attorney who persuaded the case and officials to waive the hefty penalty.

On Wednesday, Ramyakrishna, her children, and her husband returned to Hyderabad.