How to Obtain a Vehicle Inspection Certificate in Saudi Arabia?

INTRODUCTION

This blog is the guide for those expatriates who have to visit one of the centers in their Saudi city of residence where MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection) is done to obtain the Vehicle Inspection Certificate. If you have never been to the center and there is no help to guide you on how to obtain the certificate from this place, then this blog will assist you and may respond to many of your doubts and questions.

Let me first break this mountain of overthinking from you that it doesn’t matter who owns your car? You or your dealer from whom you bought the car but the transfer of ownership is yet to be done. Because MVPI or shall I say the Arabic word, Fahas (the most commonly used term for this work that means ‘Inspection’) is done to obtain the Vehicle Inspection Certificate (another name is Inspection Report which is called ‘Taqreer Fahas’ in Arabic) which is one of the major requirements to transfer the ownership of your vehicle to your name.

CORE REQUIREMENT 

The most important document that you must have to show at the MVPI center is neither your Iqama nor your Driving License, it is your Vehicle Registration (VR) card which is called Rukhsa Seer in Arabic. Why? Because your iqama and driving license are individual whereas VR card is about the vehicle that needs to be inspected and passed.

Let me break another mountain of your catastrophic doubt because many of us overthink if we may get refuse to send our car to the inspection station for the inspection only because we do not have the original card of the Vehicle Registration. The straight answer is NO, you still can take your car with the copy of VR. Even if it is expired for YEARS, they will still accept your car for inspection.

If you bought a car on installments and that period of paying installments or shall I say that the contract between the two parties is over, and to further expand the scenario if years have passed in the expiry of that contract, guess what? You still can visit the center and show the VR copy. Workers in the fahas center don’t care about your vehicle story. All they want is to inspect your car and complete the proceedings by simply handing you a passing/failing certificate.

EXPATS WITH LANGUAGE PROBLEM

Is language the issue if you are weak in Arabic? The first thing is that there is simply no need for discussion unless you ask for it. Once the car enters the station and your turn comes for inspection, two different workers sit, drive and inspect your car and return you back. THAT’S IT!

They do not interrogate you about the body of your car if it is original or second-hand. No, they do not ask you anything but the VR and the ticket you get from the box. Confused? Let’s begin by driving my car to the main gate of the MVPI center.

SHOULD YOU GO TO REPAIR YOUR VEHICLE ISSUES BEFORE VISITING THE CENTER?

To transfer the vehicle ownership to my name, I simply decided to just visit the place instead of checking a mechanic, technician, or electrician first for any kind of vehicle issues. Because;

1. There is every chance that some of the car issues probably have nothing to do with the inspection so just save the money.
2. And maybe you fix the inspection-related problems with your car and STILL, the inspector discovers a problem to fail you.

PURSUIT OF FAHAS

My iqama and driving license is valid but I had a VR copy that was expired for at least 4 years. I own Hyundai Veloster 2014 and driving for the past eight years but just a month ago, I visited the MVPI center for the first time. MVPI centers open early at 7am and closes at night by 11pm. I think the best possible time to reach and expect the least number of cars is between 12pm and 3pm.

A long queue after the entrance that takes you towards the box where you get the ticket.

At the gate, the security guard asked about the Tawakkalna screen. Once I showed the app, the guard let me entered and I drove my car towards a route where the management has prepared different lines and queues to drive in and wait for your turn to reach the box.

The worker in the box gives you this detailed ticket that you will show to the inspector along with your VR card/copy.

The box is installed where you get the ticket to show the inspector inside the station. At the box, I was asked about my VR so I gave him the copy and he checked. Then he returned the copy and demanded to me to pay the charge of the inspection. So I paid 84 riyals as my car is categorized as a ‘Passenger Car’. If I fail, I will have to pay 28 riyals at the box to get the ticket.

The price chart that shows the category of your car and the inspection charges both the first time (top) and the second time (bottom).

You do not need to worry about how much will this fahas work cost you. Look at the chart above and know what category is your car. The chart on the top has four numerical columns. Most of us have passenger cars. So according to the first column after the category, you have to pay 73 riyals. The follow-up columns indicate VAT % and the amount adding to the original amount. So you have to pay 84 riyals. The chart on the bottom with the same detailing and a lesser amount is for those who are here for re-inspection.

So I got the ticket and stood in one of the queues heading toward a large hangar-style building where there are at least four stations for the inspection. They do not continue to work during prayer times and close the gates.

Once my turn came inside the station, one inspector demanded the ticket and my VR. I showed him and then he asked me to leave the car to him and stand in the waiting area that is situated at the corner of the building.

At the waiting area, I made pictures and videos of the inspection but I was stopped by the inspector with a warning. Maybe he was not comfortable with it but if you check this place on Google Maps, you will notice scores of pictures and videos.

The car was handed over to two different inspectors and they thoroughly inspected and analyzed it. The brakes and headlights were checked and were also analyzed on the sideslip tester.

After both the inspectors were done inspecting my car, the car was given back to me and asked to stop at the final box where I get either a passing or a failing certificate. If you are a first-timer, make your mind because this is totally normal, they will fail you. This happens most of the time.

When you reach your car to the last station and no one shows up to fix the sticker on the glass, it is understood that you have failed the test. So I just reached the final box and collected my failing certificate. No further charges were asked to pay. You only pay at the first box for the ticket.

My detailed Failing Certificate.

This small stapled piece lists the failed items that need to be repaired/fixed asap.

The passing/failing certificate (or inspection report) is a computerized document with strict details and readings about your car inspection results. Why do they provide you a failing certificate? It is not a sign of discouragement but a favor to show the car to a mechanic, technician, or whoever deals in those errors to repair/fix.

Once I was handed over my failing certificate, that meant that I leave the center and visit any of my contacts to show the certificate and fix the issues. If you have no contacts, you simply leave from the exit gate and you will discover a few people in nearby places checking and coming towards you to check the errors written on the page. Here, it is up to you how you deal with this business of yours. It is always better to take advice from your friends who have knowledge in vehicle matters and have potential contacts to refer.

Remember! You must fix your car issues and return for re-inspection WITHIN TWO WEEKS. If you don’t, you have to repeat from the scratch with the same charge demanded at the box with a complete inspection. The best part of re-inspection asap is that the inspector at the station analyzes only the failing items of the certificate.

SECOND ATTEMPT (RE-INSPECTION)

When my car had all its issues fixed, I returned in 48 hours for re-inspection with my last ticket and the failing certificate. Same procedure. Reached the same box but this time, I showed my failed certificate with the previous ticket stapled with it. 28 riyals were demanded instead of 84.

With the new ticket, I stood in the queue and waited for my turn. Inside the station, the inspector approached me and I handed over to him my ticket and the failed certificate. It took comparatively lesser time in the inspection.

At the final station, I noticed a worker with a sticker reaching to my car and then he fixed it on the right top of the windshield. That was the relief point. I reached the final box and received my passing certificate and left the center.

Remember, if you have bought a brand new car, visiting the MVPI center becomes compulsory after three years of the contract signing. For example, if you buy a brand new car on the 25th of September 2021, you have to do fahas after the 25th of September 2024.

Fahas is valid for one year so maintain your car and do fahas immediately after the date expires because if the traffic police find your car with the expired sticker, you will be fined 150 riyals that are around double of what you pay for the first time at MVPI with a passenger car.

You can share your fahasperience in the comments section below or ask if you do not understand any of my detail. I wish the readers good luck with their vehicles.

My Passing Certificate

My car Fahassified

I AM SAMI NAIK

Hankering in the Wrong Queue

http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/non-saudi-applicants-cause-ruckus-career-fair/

Click the link above and read the article. This news is presenting the precise situation of the construction of depressed multinational circumstances in an economy struggling to escalate employment opportunities among the citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

 

University Of Business and Technology (UBT) organized a job fair where 40 companies offered some 3000 employment and training opportunities. To utilize the chance, Saudis, as well as expats, reached the door knocking but while they entered and arrived at the fair, the non-Saudi job applicants realized that the offers were limited to the Saudis only.

UBT didn’t bother to mention in their event program that only Saudis will be considered for the jobs. Result? 1000 non-Saudis or expats showed up who were eager to work with the recruiting companies within 48 hours! 48 hours!!! I didn’t witness the show but like other readers and observers, imagine the peak of misunderstanding. The non-Saudi candidates would have been in the queue and when their turns finally have come, they would have been immediately rejected or informed on their faces that they are not entertaining the offer to you expats! Now read their faces and do the maths yourself. After this, the expats would have become a hurdle or an obstacle on the path of job-seeking Saudis going towards the recruiters. 

 

With the growing tensions among the expats who are students or seeking jobs, this event can be observed in many ways:

 

1. There is a tremendous demand of expats from the field of business & technology who are willing to join and boost the economy. If one job fair can unintentionally fetch 1000 CVs in total from two different companies then imagine the total numbers.

 

2. At the very same time and location, 4000 Saudis are reported to show up which again shows how much is there a potential to generate the economic measures.

 

3. The article repeatedly records that the representatives of the recruiting companies in the job fair were ‘surprised’ and ‘shocked’ to see so many expats applying for the job. Their state of getting shocked and surprised is the sign of negligence and ignorance which falters the people responsible in the ministries and the administrations that they fail to notice/observe that the sweat and the blood of the expats are playing the most dynamic role in the economic progress of the country.

 

4. Another very important point which should be in focus after being surprised and shocked, most of the developed and developing countries who progress in their economy, do not consider the color, race, religion and the country where the job seeker belongs to. Because the candidates of any diversity are welcome to join the firm, considering the impression that they will benefit the company and the economy of the country overall. And that is how the teamwork is done.

 

Considering or prioritizing one national over the other in KSA or any part of the world builds disputes and rifts, brings cultural and ethnic misunderstanding, causes depression and theorizes a protest for the justice. Ignoring an individual on his/her nationality instead of considering his/her qualification, experience, work efficiency and compatibility will always bring a wrong impression. How would an expat aim to stay in the kingdom and think for the goodness if he/she is rejected for his/her not being a Saudi? And if being Saudi is must then the nationality should be granted after a minimum stay of 5 Islamic or Gregorian years. There are thousands and thousands of cases where an expat like me is born and raised here. On my 33rd year, a guy like me, after all the life spent here, is clueless about his future after reading and listening all the rules and observing the tensions created by those rules for the expats.

 

That is not how the country is led by prioritizing the locals and completely ignoring the expats or firing them from the jobs. A wrong example is created globally to the observers because of most of the people in America, Europe, Australia or even in India, are working and studying together as a job seeker who is eager to fulfill his/her dream/ambition to become something and a student who is aiming high with no distinction and divergence.

 

5. With the state of being shocked and surprised also indicates the hatred when one stated in the article, “We don’t know how they got in and who let them in”. This sounds like if the organizers forgot to fix the notice board outside the job fair that “No Beggars And Dogs Are Allowed”. Shoo Expat! Shoo!

 

Being born and bred here in this country, being a son of my city, Jeddah, I advocate for the employment of the Saudi men and women who hold a lot of promises in their chosen fields. I do wish that the citizens, like the expats, should boost the economy by their contribution. But but but not by cutting or firing the expats from their jobs to replace us with the Saudis but by creating employment opportunities, so the citizens and the expats can together help and stabilize the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

May Lord bless the King and the Kingdom. Amen.

I AM SAMI NAIK

My Selfish Diary: Romance Catoholics

In the kingdom where I breathe a confound alfresco, the personal and working life of the born-and-raised expats like us are at a question mark; and being the custodian of our fates, us millennials borrow some time to think on the brink because the bettering dreams turning into shattering dreams is a realization that the hope is hopped in our recession.

Although, beneath the line of soliloquy, an expat like me try to focus on plethoric theories to heal the gashes of the unwanted past and favor the time to catch a train of well-wishes. No matter how cruel how pollute the world becomes, do good and have good and leave it on God.

My best friend Liza and I are devoted cat lovers since childhood. Being sensitive to the most innocent and loving creatures in the world, we have lost our pets in front of our eyes but strived to make the better of few of the cats who caught our attention. I have come to various incidents in serving, rescuing and paying my last respects to the cats in my life. Once my family pet 21 cats at home due to the birth of few of the cats helping in multiplication but we didn’t give up during our never-ending financial crisis. We gave our pets a combined respect and sent each of them to a German lady who served animal welfare and care. May Lord bless that lady. It was a decade ago, now who knows how many of them are…

Liza with her family moved out from the kingdom for good. She has settled in the Pacific and eight months later has returned back for mere a month to meet her parents and kins. My sin is that when she was leaving, I couldn’t meet her. But when she returned, she was busy to schedule our reunion for the sake of our old friendship saga which originates since we were hardly a year old.

Yesterday night (18.04), when Liza had an outing with her family, spotted a pair of beautiful adult cats in their cat tree but to a major surprise, there was no individual on the street keeping the pets. Which clearly meant that someone dropped such adorable cats in their tree on the street and left for God knows what reason. Liza was agitated and mutilated at the same time due to the fact that she herself cannot do anything about the cats because she herself is staying with her family.

Liza messaged, sent the pictures of the poor and sought if I can look after these but I excused for having 10 cats at my own home; the numbers enough to refuse the others. She was very perturbed and distressed repeatedly thinking about the fate of those cats. The cats were silent and weren’t leaving more than few inches from their tree. I advised her to ask someone at this hour of time if anyone, by any good luck, can foster these.

It had been hours and during midnight, at my usual routine of playing FIFA17 at PS4, Liza messaged me and asked for help all of a sudden. My eyebrows grew more hair to learn what on earth had come up as late as 1.30 am. She responded that she want to drop those cats to someone who has agreed to foster the cats at this hour of time. *Yawn*

When the world is sleeping to wake up early for the prayer, for the work, for waking up the kids for the school, there are some rare breed of inhumans, I mean humans,  in some very interesting part of the world who are eager to rescue the cats and drop them at the safest place possible.

Being a huge comic books reader, I realized that I have learned more humanity and aimed to do better things in life than I was ever taught in school. Serving for good has boosted my enthusiasm and helped me follow my omens. At such a time when I used to lie on my bed, I decided to help her and rescue the cats.

To reach as quick as possible, I drove the car in haste and completely forgot that there was a speed breaker in one of the area streets where I use to drive daily towards my office every morning. The car badly hit the speed breaker and the reason of installing such thing was completely fulfilled. I cursed myself and patiently drove the next moments. In 15 minutes, I collected her from her cousin’s residence and this is how Liza and I reunited and saw each other again.

My car is driven on the sleeping streets occupied by the sound of silence. The city of Jeddah gives you freshness when you drive towards the seaside especially at midnight but here the rescuers were very fresh for the purpose. Unluckily, she forgot the spot where she was hanging with her relatives an hour ago as the place was very unfamiliar to her plus she had no internet on her cell phone. Also, was I having the luxury of losing the lifeline of the cell phone as I didn’t charge the battery due to an unexpected twist at the eleventh hour. All she knew was that the place is nearby the seaside. After a 15-minute drive, Liza called someone and collected the instructions of heading towards the destiny where we realized that we were going precisely opposite.

At King Abdul Aziz Road, I was supposed to take u-turn just before Al Manar Car Wash but instead, took u-turn after Stars Avenue Mall and drove towards Tahliya Park and Salaam Park situated in the Andalus district. The time was running and so were our heart beats because the presence of the scared cats at the spot was at risk.

I drove back and reached the spot where she had witnessed those cats. To our utter good luck, the cats were there in their tree. The pair were so scared that they weren’t popping out of their tree and had severely low cries. When Liza lifted the tree, the cats neither popped out nor hit the paws to her. They were lying inside the tree, no movement. She easily dropped the tree in the back seat and we left the spot.

  

We thanked God that they were safe and had no sign of abuse. I don’t know the class or the breed but the cats were very beautiful. The rescue attempt was half done and there was every possibility that while I drive the car, the cats may release themselves from the prison of the tree and get panic. The whole destiny while returning back, the cats made not a single attempt of escaping from the car again indicating how frightened these creatures were.

Now that ‘someone’ who agreed to foster this ongoing midnight was never met by Liza nor did she know where was she living. She had the coordinates but had no internet. I had the internet but didn’t have enough battery in the cell phone to follow the next coordinates. So she was unable to send me the coordinates, nor was I able to match the address on my app. There was no shop nearby and I was still expecting a razor paw or a love bite on my neck coming from the back seat.

The madness prevailed us to type every single unit, letter, and punctuation to form a coordinate on my app which was very bizarre. The idea didn’t make any sense but we had to act swiftly because the time had crossed 2 in the morning, the foster lady was waiting, the petrol of my car was alarming, and the paws on my neck was anytime incoming. Soon as we typed the whole address and clicked for the directions, the mobile lost its life and slept.

Liza suggested stopping the car at any shop so she buys the card to charge the internet because we had no other option. The card was bought, the internet began working on her cell phone, so were the coordinates. I drove on Liza’s directions and guess what! the destiny was a couple of kilometers away from my own home.

We reached the destiny and I parked the car on the corner. The cat tree was removed from the car and one of the cats did panic and struggled to pop out and escape the situation. She controlled and carried the weight; and disappeared into the building. Ten minutes later, she returned with a huge smile on her face and the rescue attempt was complete. We together declared “We Did It”. It was a joyous and emotional moment. We felt extremely, immensely, and supremely blessed. No matter how many bad deeds we have done in our life but there are some good deeds we are manifestly proud of.

 

God is the witness that in the humming chore of sleeping homes where the residents borrowed time to fulfill their dreams and wake up for their offices, schools, prayers and different purposes, there were two passionate cat lovers who considered no unwillingness and gave the pair of poor cats their new guardian who may/will treat them better than their former guardians. They were not our pets nor were we anything to them but it was the concern which clouded with the chance of rescue.

I dropped her back home and the time was around 3 in the morning. It was an unforgettable night. Perhaps if I had not helped her, she would have increased her blood pressure or killed her brain in developing theories or over thinking all the possibilities and plausibilities over the situation on that street; and at the same time, I may have felt guilty not to help her and the cats while struggling to sleep. Our nights were abnormally lengthy and we surely slept in our homes in peace after a very long time.