RIYADH – Authorities in Saudi Arabia have expanded the issuance of recently introduced e-visa to declare more countries eligible for the service.
As per the latest announcement, citizens of eight more countries will now be eligible for a visitor e-visa to provide them with a seamless travel experience.
The e-visa will be available to visitors from Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, for leisure, business, and religious (Umrah only) travel.
Nationals of these countries can apply for a visitor visa electronically or upon arrival at one of the country’s ports.
The expansion brings the total number of eligible countries for e-visa to 57, with prospects of further expansion in the near future.
It merits mentioning that the visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries, and permits a stay of up to 90 days; it enables tourists to explore different regions of Saudi Arabia and participate in Umrah as well.
Saudi Arabia is revamping its visa system and recently replaced the visa sticker with QR codes for countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Indonesia, and Egypt.
In July, the country announced new instant e-visa options for travelers with UK, US, and Schengen visas, as well as permanent residents of those countries to ease travel restrictions.
The latest visa measures also contribute to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan in which the country aims to hit the target of attracting 100 million visits annually by 2030.
The Saudi Press Agency reports that the country has become one of the fastest-growing tourism markets globally, recording 93.5 million visits in 2022. For this year, the kingdom also managed to receive over 2 million Hajj pilgrims which was the first time after the Covid-19 that the country welcomed pilgrims in such large numbers.
