Saudi Arabia has announced new instant e-visa options as it looks to attract tourists and visitors to the country, Arabian Business reported.
The new e-visa will facilitate UK, US, and Schengen visas holders, as well as permanent residents of UK, US, and any EU country to obtain tourist e-visas to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through www.mofa.gov.sa.
The Kingdom has previously extended regulation 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 the country and contribute to Saudi’s vision of reaching 100 million visits annually by 2030.
Saudi Arabia introduces new e-visa options
Since opening to tourism in 2019, the Kingdom has become one of the fastest-growing tourism markets globally, recording 93.5m visits in 2022.
This achievement is a result of the tremendous efforts of destinations across the Kingdom in providing visitors with unparalleled experiences and a seamless travel journey.
The Saudi Tourism Authority is accelerating efforts to make it easier for visitors from across the world to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Through digitisation, Saudi Arabia is increasing accessibility and connectivity, providing simplified entry routes to visitors, focused on enabling all travellers to enjoy our natural and cultural diversity.
The new instant e-visa is among several initiatives that the Kingdom has launched over the past year to improve the visitor experience.
In 2022, the Tourism Authority launched the Nusuk platform in collaboration with the Pilgrim Experience Program.
Nusuk, country’s first ever official integrated digital platform, provides pilgrims and visitors an easy-to-use planning gateway for their journeys to Makkah, Madinah, and beyond.
The Kingdom has previously extended regulation to provide visas on arrival to:
- US visa holders
- UK visa holders
- Schengen visa holders
It also offers visa on arrival to permanent residents of UK, US, and any EU country and e-visa eligibility was extended to residents of the GCC.
Earlier this year, KSA also announced the launch of a new Stopover Visa.
Free-of-charge and available to passengers travelling on SAUDIA and flynas, the visa is open to an even greater number of countries than the historic tourism e-visa and will allow visitors to stay in the country for up to 96 hours.