How to withdraw money from a frozen account?

With this process, you can withdraw money from a Saudi bank account frozen because Iqama has expired, suspicious transactions, or issuance of final exit.

Withdraw money if Iqama is Expired

The major reason for freezing bank accounts in Saudi Arabia is the expiration of Iqama. In this case, you can renew your Iqama and update the bank. Your bank account will be active within 24 hours, and then you can withdraw funds.

Account frozen due to final exit

In case you manage to get a final exit and now come to Saudi Arabia on a new visa, you will have to visit the branch to withdraw money from your old bank account with the following documents;

• A detailed Arabic application describing your issue and what you are requesting.
• A print of the IBAN letter of your account.
• Print of Old Iqama.

The bank will take your documents and send them to their head office for approval. Once the approval is received which might take a few weeks, you would be able to withdraw funds from your old bank account.

Account frozen due to commercial activity

The second major reason banks freeze an individual account in Saudi Arabia is due to suspicious commercial activity. It means that the bank thinks that you are running an unregistered business apart from working on a job.

It normally happens when the volume of transactions in your bank account exceeds your monthly salary amount for several months. 

The bank normally sends you an SMS 30 days before freezing the bank account so you can withdraw money from it within this period.

Normally, these accounts are activated if you provide the bank with your salary letter and a reasonable justification for those transactions.