Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) for citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to enter the Kingdom. All the British nationals, who intend to visit Saudi Arabia, will no longer be required to obtain a visit visa in advance of travel and they can stay for a period of up to six months on a single entry.

The ministry stated that the waiver is granted to those Britons, who wish to visit the Kingdom for the purposes of business, tourism, study and treatment. The EVW allows visiting Saudi Arabia on a single entry for a stay of up to six months. This feature is also an advanced facilitation of entry procedures and one of the channels that UK citizens can take advantage to visit the Kingdom.

The ministry said that the waiver can be obtained by filling out the designated application from on the Unified National Visa Platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided that the application can be submitted between 90 days and 48 hours before the date of travel to the Kingdom. The visa approval will be to sent to the beneficiary via e-mail within 24 hours of submitting the application.

It is noteworthy that the United Kingdom had launched a similar EVW facility for the Saudi citizens effective from June 1, 2022. Accordingly, any Saudi citizen, who wishes to visit the UK, is no longer required to obtain a visit visa in advance of travel. There is no requirement for applicants to provide biometrics, attend a Visa Application Centre or hand in passports in advance of travel for an EVW. However, the visa requirements for work, study and settlement in the UK remain in place.