Conversion of dates

Most of the expatriates working in Saudi Arabia get stuck with the problem of conversion from Islamic to Gregorian dates and vice versa. It is no exaggeration if I say that the wallet of an expatriate contains more paper than cash
Typically, the wallet of an expatriate working in Saudi Arabia contains his original residence permit (Iqama), company ID card, and if he has a car, the original driving license, car ownership card, car registration card (known locally as Istemara), insurance card for his car, medical insurance card (one each for himself and his family members) and probably lots of other stuff like pocket calendar, ATM card, credit card.....
The problem is not so much in carrying these documents, but in knowing which one expires when. All dealings with the Government are done only as per Islamic calendar, which usually has 11 days less than the Gregorian calendar. There are innumerable cases where people have lost flights, denied entry after vacation due to visa expiry, and a host of other problems all because they did not check the equivalent Gregorian dates
Probably the most alarming would be to drive your vehicle after expiry of your license or your car insurance, or even worse, without a valid iqama. The expatriates working in Saudi Arabia must also be fully aware about the validity of their iqama and their exit / reentry visas. Please always renew your documents on time
Please also note that when it is stamped as "One year" in your passport as the time for re-entry, it always means "One Islamic year" and not one Gregorian year. To be on the safer side, always deduct some 15 days from a Gregorian calendar to know approximately when your visa expires.
I have given in the link here a tool for converting from Islamic to Gregorian date and vice versa. I am sure this would help you overcome the problem of conversion of dates
Hope you liked this post. Your appreciation is my motivation to write, so please do let me know what you feel about this blog and the topics you want me to cover