JEDDAH: Saudi women are eager to work in the country’s passport offices, as unprecedented numbers applied for jobs advertised by the General Directorate of Passports (GDP). On Jan. 18, the directorate announced via Twitter that it was looking for female Saudi nationals to fill 140 jobs at airport passport offices and land borders. Just a week after the application process began, amazed GDP officials learned that 107,000 Saudi women had applied and that the directorate’s website had received more than 600,000 hits. Officials closed the registration for the jobs to prevent numbers of applications mounting further. The directorate announced it has begun processing applications to fill vacancies for the rank of private, to be filled by Saudi women who are high school graduates or holders of an equivalent diploma. Official GDP spokesman, Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, told Arab News that it will be possible to process the applications electronically. He said that the directorate will sift applications through an automatic coding system, designed to ensure that all applications meet the criteria. Successful applicants will need to be physically fit, aged between 25 and 35, and not married to a non-Saudi national. Women who grew up outside the Kingdom while their fathers served overseas are exempt from the Saudi nationals condition. Approved candidates will have to successfully attend a 30-day training course before they will be allowed to begin their official duties.