If You Have A UK, US, Or Schengen Visa, You Can Now Get A Saudi Tourist Visa On Arrival

In September 2019, Saudi Arabia announced its first tourist visa which allowed entry into the country to people from 49 countries. As the new year begins, the Kingdom opens its doors even wider to the world, this time announcing that anyone with a Schengen visa or a visa from the United Kingdom or the United States is eligible for visa on arrival.

This month, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation instructed national air carriers to allow anyone who any has any of these valid visas to travel to Saudi Arabia, irrespective of their nationality, as long as the visa is still valid upon their departure from the country. Holders of these visas are eligible for a multiple-entry, Saudi tourism visa on arrival at airports and border crossings, allowing them to stay for up to 90 days in the Kingdom.

Talks to launch the country’s first-ever tourism visa began back in March of 2018, as news media across the globe reported on the possibility of Saudi Arabia finally offering visa-free access to its non-religious tourism sites to visitors from a number of countries. Over a year later, the Kingdom announced that tourists from the United States, Canada, 38 European countries, seven countries in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand were now eligible to apply for the new visas, which can be obtained online and in just seven minutes.

Although a country rich with exceptional natural, cultural, and heritage sites, Saudi Arabia has only recently been really developing its tourism sector beyond its current structure, which has been designed to cater all-year-round to religious pilgrims. The current visa initiative is part of the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to bring in more tourists and is seen as an important step towards realizing the objectives of its Vision 2030 national plan, which aim at diversifying its oil-dependent economy, modernizing its society, and providing diverse work opportunities for its youth.