Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — France has added Saudi Arabia to its travel “green list,” allowing travelers from Saudi Arabia to have unrestricted entry into the European country.

France Ambassador to Saudi Arabia made the announcement on his Twitter handle on Thursday, saying: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the green list. In the green list. Those who wish to visit France from the Kingdom and have a valid visa can travel freely to France! Welcome to your second country!”

Apart from Saudi Arabia, other countries that are on France’s “green list” are the following:

(European Union, Andorra, the Holy See, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland), and Albania, Australia, Bosnia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Vanuatu.

According to the rules, unvaccinated travelers arriving in France from the “green list” of countries are not subject to any health measures.

However, unvaccinated visitors aged 11 years or older must present a negative PCR or antigenic test taken less than 72 hours before boarding the flight.

Meanwhile, Austria has also allowed travelers from Saudi Arabia to visit the country, beginning from Thursday (June 24), the Saudi Embassy in Austria announced in a statement on Thursday.

“Countries with low epidemiological risks have been modified to include Saudi Arabia, thus allowing Saudi citizens to enter Austria, starting today,” the statement read.

Those seeking to travel to Austria must either be vaccinated or test negative for coronavirus. Additionally, they need to provide proof of their presence in one of the countries with low epidemiological risks during the 10 days before their arrival in Austria.