The Saudi Arabian government has announced the opening of a new women’s section in the Labour Ministry office for recruitment of domestic help.

The new section will issue visas for maids and other domestic workers.

This will help businesswomen and other qualified women greatly as they can now recruit maids and drivers at a faster pace, reported the Arab News, citing a senior official.

"The women’s section was opened to ensure privacy for businesswomen and other females who have fulfilled recruitment conditions," stated Abdullah Al-Olayan, director-general of the ministry’s branch office in the Riyadh region, said

The ministry is planning to open more such women-only offices across the kingdom, he added.

Meanwhile, the ministry has denied press reports that it will hike visa charges for the recruitment of domestic help from SR2,000 to SR2,300 ($533 to $613) after the introduction of electronic visa services from October 25.