Authorities in Saudi Arabia have decided to launch electronic visa services in seven more world countries, as the Kingdom has adopted a more tourism-friendly visa policy throughout recent years in order to lure more tourists, aside from those visiting for religious reasons.
The recent initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed to further develop a visa-issuing mechanism by using the latest technology will facilitate the visa-issuing process for Saudi Arabia missions in Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines, VisaGuide.World reports.
In order to benefit from the e-visa eligible candidates are required to apply through the official tourism website of Saudi Arabia.
To apply for a Saudi Arabian visa online, applicants should access the e-visa application website by clicking the “Apply Now” button, and then complete the visa application form, pay the visa fee, and wait for the e-visa to be processed, which takes about 30 minutes.
After receiving the e-visa, applicants can print it out and use it to enter the country within 90 days.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia introduced e-visas for the first time in late 2019 in order to accommodate increased tourism.
Last year, Saudi Arabian leaders said that visitors could apply for a personal visit visa in order to visit friends who are Saudi citizens using the e-visa services form on its website.
Among the requirements for the personal visit visa is obtaining an original passport for no less than six months, which should have at least two successive empty visa pages.
The visa, which is valid for a period of 90 days, permits visitors to travel throughout Saudi Arabia, including the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina.
Last year, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah revealed that since the start of the Umrah season, on July 30, until the end of 2022, over four million visas were issued for pilgrims from worldwide countries.
Recently, Saudi Arabian authorities unfolded plans to add a total of 315,000 new hotel rooms with an estimated development cost of $37.8 billion by 2030 as part of efforts to further help the recovery of the tourism sector, according to a National Gulf report.
According to the statistics provided by the research platform, Macrotrends, tourism statistics for 2020 amid COVID-related restrictions was 5,960,000,000.00, accounting for a 69.97 percent decline compared to pre-pandemic levels or 19,849,000,000.00.
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