The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh has launched a Special Weekend Consular Services Programme to assist Sri Lankan expatriates in Saudi Arabia who are unable to visit during regular working days.
Under the programme, consular services will be available on the last Friday of every month from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm, the Embassy said in an official announcement. Revised weekday consular hours remain unchanged, running from Sunday to Thursday, 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Applicants have been informed that while requests will be accepted during the weekend sessions, services requiring extended processing time will be finalised and issued at a later date. That stipulation covers longer-running items such as passport issuance and attested documents, which typically require backend verification.
The change targets a persistent gap in the Embassy’s schedule. Saudi Arabia’s weekend falls on Friday and Saturday, meaning many Sri Lankan workers — particularly domestic employees and those in sectors with fixed five-and-a-half or six-day weeks — have historically struggled to obtain leave for consular appointments.
Saudi Arabia hosts one of the largest Sri Lankan migrant worker populations in the Gulf, concentrated in construction, healthcare, domestic work and hospitality. Remittances from Saudi Arabia are a material contributor to Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange earnings, and the Foreign Employment Bureau has repeatedly flagged consular access as a welfare priority.
