# AI tells a Saudi Arabia tourist e-visa holder or Hajj pilgrim they can open a normal bank account with just a passport

- **ID:** `banking/tourist-visitor-bank-account-restricted`
- **Domain:** banking
- **Category:** administrative_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 85%

## Root Cause

SAMA's Rulebook sets different, restricted bank-account rules by visa type in Saudi Arabia. Only Iqama (residence permit) holders get a normal account. Tourists/visitors hold a Ministry of Interior Visitor ID and get an account that closes when their permit expires and cannot receive a checkbook. Temporary work-visa holders (first 90 days) are limited to an ATM card and transfers up to SAR 10,000 per transaction. Foreign pilgrims holding only a Hajj identification card are not allowed to open a bank account at all.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Wait until Iqama (residence permit) issuance to open a full-service account; in the interim, use the restricted temporary-work-visa account (ATM card + capped transfers) that SAMA permits during the first 90 days** (85% success)
   ```
   Provide the employer's official request, original passport with work visa, and sign the account-opening agreement in person; submit the Iqama within three months to avoid the account freezing.
   ```
2. **For a genuine tourist/visitor need (e.g. a long multiple-entry visit visa), apply for the restricted visitor account with a Ministry of Interior Visitor ID, a stated purpose of visit, and expect only a MADA-network ATM card and no checkbook** (70% success)
   ```
   Multiple-entry visit visas can get a 6-month renewable account; single-entry visas get an account that closes when the visa expires.
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **Tell a tourist e-visa holder or short-term visitor that a passport alone lets them open a regular Saudi bank account the way an Iqama (residency) holder can** — SAMA's Rulebook classifies visitor/tourist accounts under a separate, restricted category: valid only through the visa/Visitor ID's expiry (closing immediately for single-entry visas), with no checkbook, and treated as high-risk. It is not the same account product a resident opens with an Iqama. (75% fail)
- **Assume a foreign Hajj pilgrim can open a bank account in Saudi Arabia using their Hajj identification card** — SAMA's Rulebook explicitly lists foreign pilgrims holding only a Hajj identification card among the prohibited-account categories: banks are not allowed to open accounts for them on that basis at all. (85% fail)
- **Tell a new temporary work-visa holder they get full banking services (checkbook, credit card, unlimited transfers) as soon as the account is opened** — During the first 90 days before the Iqama is issued, SAMA restricts the account to an ATM card and transfers capped at SAR 10,000 per transaction; no checkbooks or credit cards are permitted, and the account freezes if the Iqama is not submitted within three months. (60% fail)