New instant e-visa options for Saudi Arabia visitors

Agencies | Riyadh    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Saudi Arabia has announced new instant e-visa alternatives that would allow holders of UK, US, and Schengen visas, as well as permanent residents of the UK, US, and any EU nation, to get tourist e-visas to the kingdom through www.mofa.gov.sa beginning today.

The kingdom previously extended regulations to provide visas on arrival to the six categories; this is just the latest step as Saudi Arabia makes it easier than ever for visitors to experience authentic Arabia and contribute to the kingdom's vision of reaching 100 million visits annually by 2030.

Since opening to tourism in 2019, Saudi Arabia has become one of the world's fastest-growing tourist destinations, with 93.5 million visitors expected by 2022. This success is the result of significant efforts by venues around the Kingdom to provide guests with unmatched experiences and a smooth travel trip.

The Saudi Tourism Authority is stepping up efforts to make it easy for people from all around the world to visit Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is improving accessibility and connection via digitization, simplifying entrance methods for visitors, and focusing on enabling all travellers to appreciate our natural and cultural variety.

The new instant e-visa is one of the numerous efforts made by the Kingdom in this past year to improve the visitor experience.

The Saudi Tourism Authority, in partnership with the Pilgrim Experience Programme, will debut the Nusuk platform in 2022. Nusuk, Saudi Arabia's first official integrated digital platform, offers pilgrims and tourists a simple planning portal for their trips to Makkah, Madinah, and beyond.

Saudi Arabia previously amended regulations to allow holders of valid US, UK, and Schengen visas, as well as permanent residents of the UK, US, and any EU nation, to get visas on arrival and e-visa eligibility was extended to GCC citizens. Saudi Arabia also announced the launch of a new Stopover Visa earlier this year.

The visa, which is free and available to SAUDIA and flynas passengers, is open to an even larger number of nations than the old tourist e-visa and will let travellers stay in the country for up to 96 hours.