Saudi Arabia, in a continuous attempt to ease the visa process and increase tourism in the country, has introduced new Instant E-Visa options for visitors.
The new Instant E-Visa options will facilitate United Kingdom, United States and Schengen Visa holders, as well as permanent residents of UK, US, and any EU country to obtain tourist e-visas to Saudi through http://www.mofa.gov.sa. Saudi has previously extended regulation to provide visas on arrival to the six categories. This latest move makes it easier than ever for visitors to experience the authentic home of Arabia and contribute to Saudi’s vision of reaching 100 million visits annually by 2030.
Saudi Tourism Authority is accelerating efforts to make it easier for visitors from across the world to travel to Saudi. Through digitisation, Saudi is increasing accessibility and connectivity, providing simplified entry routes to visitors, focused on enabling all travellers to enjoy their natural and cultural diversity. The new instant e-visa is among several initiatives that Saudi has launched over the past year to improve the visitor experience.
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In 2022, Saudi Tourism Authority launched the Nusuk platform in collaboration with the Pilgrim Experience Program. Nusuk, Saudi’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.
Earlier this year, Saudi 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. Since opening to tourism in 2019, Saudi has become one of the fastest-growing tourism markets globally, recording 93.5 million visits in 2022.
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