RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a mechanism for obtaining a “personal visit” visa, which enables visitors to enter the Kingdom to visit friends or acquaintances who are Saudi citizens.
The visa also allows individuals to travel between the Kingdom’s regions and cities, perform Umrah rituals, visit Makkah and Madinah and other religious and historical sites, and attend cultural events.
The ministry said that people can apply for the visa through easy and convenient electronic steps on the visa platform website: https://visa.mofa.gov.sa.
Saudi citizens can invite friends to visit Saudi Arabia and perform Umrah by submitting a request for a personal visit on the visa platform and applying for a “visit” request, by logging in through the unified national access platform, and filling out the data for the invitees. The request will then be processed and a “personal visit visa document” issued, whose data can be viewed through the “invitation request” query service.
The ministry added that invitees can pay the fees and medical insurance after filling out the “entry visa application” form in the visa platform, and then submitting the application and passport to the Saudi embassy or consulate in the country where the guest resides, or through the centers or offices accredited to the embassy or consulate. They will then receive their passport after the entry visa has been issued and can enter the Kingdom through all air, land and sea ports.
This move aims to increase the number of foreign visits, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, the ministry said.
Inquiries about the submitted applications can be made by entering the visa platform, selecting the “inquiry” icon, filling in the required data, then clicking on “inquiry” to review the previously submitted applications.
