From Application to Arrival: A Practical Guide to Saudi Tourist Visas in 2025

Executive Summary

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s visa policy has changed a lot. It used to be very strict, but now it’s more open and has more options to draw business and tourists from around the world.  The Saudi eVisa, which makes it easier for people from 66 countries to enter the country, is at the heart of this change.  This time of liberalization, on the other hand, comes after a recent set of focused and dynamic policy changes.  The most important of these steps was taken in 2025, when travelers from 14 countries were limited in certain ways in response to the humanitarian situation during Hajj 2024.  This report breaks down all the different ways to get a visa, such as visa-free entry, the Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW), the online eVisa, and the Visa on Arrival (VOA). It also gives a critical review of the most recent policy changes.  It is meant to be the final guide for tourists and businesses trying to figure out how to enter the Kingdom’s changing rules.

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1. How to Understand the Saudi Visa System

1.1. Categorization of Entry Permissions: A Multi-faceted System

Saudi Arabia’s entry rules are set up in a way that makes travel easier for people based on their country and reason for traveling.  People from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—are free to move around at the easiest level.  They do not need a visa at all because they can enter the Kingdom by showing their national ID card.

 The Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) plan is a separate and fairly new group.  This program is only for people from certain countries, like the UK, and lets them enter Saudi Arabia once and stay for up to six months.  One big difference between the EVW and the eVisa is that the EVW does not come with health insurance. The visitor must buy his or her own insurance separately.  People who want to use the EVW must apply online and give information about their flight at least 48 hours before their trip and up to 90 days in advance.

 The online eVisa and the Visa on Arrival (VOA) method are the main ways that people travel between countries.  In terms of who can use them and why, these two paths are pretty much the same.  The eVisa is a one-year visa that lets you enter the country more than once and stay for up to 90 days each time.  The VOA is the same visa, but you get it at the port of entry when you get there.  The price difference is small but noticeable: the eVisa costs SAR 535, while the VOA costs SAR 480, which is a little less.  For people from other countries that aren’t covered by these programs, they need to get a regular visa through a Saudi office or consulate.

1.2. The Tourist Visa: Purpose and Privileges

This type of ticket is very flexible and can be used for many different types of activities.  Its main goal is to make travel easier, which includes things like going on vacation, going to events, and sightseeing.  It also makes it possible to meet family and friends.  One very important benefit of this visa is that it lets visitors do Umrah, which is a pilgrimage to Mecca that can happen at any time of the year.

One important thing that people often get wrong, though, is that the tourist visa does not allow people to go on the Hajj journey.  The Saudi government has tight control over who can go on Hajj. Each country is given a certain number of spots and needs a special Hajj ticket.  These different types of visas show an important part of Saudi policy: separating the commercialization of general tourists from the state’s control over its holiest religious ceremonies.  Because of this difference came the new policy changes, which are looked at in more detail in the next section.  The standard tourist visa is good for one year from the date it was issued and lets you enter the country more than once. You can stay for a total of 180 days in any 365-day time.

 2. Who Can Get an E-Visa or a Visa on Arrival (VOA)? A Full Analysis

 2.1 The Full List of eVisas and VOAs

Getting a Saudi tourist visa through the normal eVisa or VOA process is the fastest way to do it.  This is open to a lot of countries, mostly from Asia, Oceania, Europe, and North America.  The official eVisa portal for the Kingdom lists 66 countries as being eligible, and a study of different sources confirms this long list of nationalities.

As proven by official and trustworthy third-party sources, the following table shows a compiled and cross-referenced list of nationalities that can get either an eVisa or a Visa on Arrival.

Table 1: Saudi Arabia Tourist Visa Eligibility Matrix

2.2. The Special VOA Pathway for US, UK, and Schengen Visa Holders

 Besides the regular list of people who can enter Saudi Arabia, the country also has a special Visa on Arrival process for people who have legal tourist or business visas from the US, UK, or a Schengen Area country.  Individuals who are not citizens of the countries mentioned in Table 1 but have a qualifying visa fall into a separate and important category of eligibility.

 Under this policy, a traveler must meet three strict requirements in order to be qualified for a VOA:

•  The visa from the US, UK, or Schengen area must be for work or pleasure.
•  When you enter Saudi Arabia, the visa has to still be current.
•  The visa must have been used at least once to enter the country or area that issued it, and the entry stamp in the passport must match.

This approach is a logical step that makes use of the security and screening measures that huge Western nations currently have in place.   Saudi Arabia successfully boosts the number of tourists who are eligible by admitting in passengers who have already been approved and presented proof of identity by these authorities. This way, they don’t have to set up a different screening process for each nation, which would take a lot of time and resources.   This shows that the Kingdom wants to reach more people around the world and trusts that other countries’ immigration rules are fair.

Table 2: Requirements for VOA via Third-Country Visas

3. Critical Analysis of Recent Policy Changes and Their Implications

3.1. Contextual Background: The Hajj 2024 Tragedy and Regulatory Response

To fully understand Saudi Arabia’s visa policy, you need more than just a list of countries that are allowed to apply. You also need to look at why the rules have changed recentlyDuring Hajj 2024, more over 1,200 individuals perished, largely because it was too hot and there were too many people.  This caused the biggest modifications to policies in 2025.

A research indicated that the significant number of “undocumented” pilgrims—people who came to the nation on long-term visit visas, including the one-year multiple-entry tourist visa, with the aim of conducting Hajj without the necessary paperwork—was a major source of the pandemonium.    This method avoids the official Hajj reservation system, which means that there are too many people and not enough places to help them.   In response, the Saudi Arabian authorities made a series of rigorous new laws to limit the number of tourists and stop anyone from using tourist visas for illicit religious reasons.

3.2. The Temporary Ban on 14 Nationalities (February to June 2025)

The government did something in two steps, one after the other.  It was meant for persons from 14 specific countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.  As of February 1, 2025, the first rule said that people from these countries could only come into the country once and stay for up to 30 days.   It was a clear change from the policy that visas were only good for one year but could be used more than once.   Things got worse on April 8, 2025, when a brief ban that covered everything was put in place.   This action stopped all new visit cards for these 14 countries.  Tourist, work, and family visit visas were all part of this.  Also, people from these countries who were already in Saudi Arabia with legal visit visas had to leave the Kingdom by April 13, 2025, or they could be fined or banned from entering again.

By the end of April, things had become more complicated.  Even though there were no new visas available officially, immigration officials said that people with valid visas could still enter and leave the country, though there were some cases of people being turned away or refused boarding.  The suspension stayed in place until the end of Hajj 2025.

3.3. Old Rules Are Over: Single-Entry Visas Are Now the Law

Saudi Arabia announced that Umrah visas would be given out again after Hajj finished on June 10, 2025.   On June 30, 2025, the 14 countries’ brief bans on visas were no longer in place.

But the policy did not go back to how it was before the Hajj. Travelers from the affected countries can now apply for visas again, but they can only get a single-entry visa and can only stay for up to 90 days.  There has been a big and long-lasting change. Businesses and people who travel a lot find it harder to plan when they have to apply for a visa for every trip instead of just once a year. It costs more and adds more work to their routine jobs. Because of the change, business has to be planned out more carefully for each stay.  

Table 3: Timeline and Impact of 2025 Visa Restrictions

4. Important rules and things that passengers must do

4.1. General Rules for Getting a Visa and Entering the Country

All tourists, no matter how they receive a visa, must follow a basic set of guidelines to make sure they can enter Saudi Arabia without any problems.   The passport is the most significant piece of paper.  You can do this using bank statements and proof of employment, such as a work contract or a diploma showing that they are in school.   Visitors must also have health insurance that is valid in Saudi Arabia.  The official eVisa charge usually includes this insurance needs to be good for at least six months from the date of entry and have at least two blank pages for stamps with entry and exit dates.  To get a solo visa, you must be at least 18 years old. If you are under 18, you must be with a guardian who is at least 18 years old.

 Usually, you need to provide more information to finish the application process.  You might need a passport-sized picture with a white background, a confirmed round-trip ticket, proof that you have a hotel room, or a letter of invitation from a resident.  For some types of visas, applicants must also show proof that they have enough money to cover their stay. This can be done with bank records and proof of employment, like a work contract or a certificate showing that they are enrolled in school.  Also, visitors must have health insurance that works in Saudi Arabia. This insurance is often included in the official eVisa fee.

4.2. Costs and Expenses for Visas

 Depending on how you apply, getting a tourist visa for Saudi Arabia can cost a variety of various amounts.   The cost of a tourist eVisa is SAR 535, which includes the cost of the mandatory health insurance.   The Visa on Arrival costs a little less, at SAR 480.   You can only pay for both of them in Saudi riyals with a credit or debit card from another country.

 People who use a third-party visa service business should be ready to pay more.  Even though the official fee might be cheap, like $80, a third-party agency can charge an extra $50 to over $150 for processing. Some services even charge as much as $199 for the eVisa.  There may also be fees for faster processing, translating documents, or collecting biometric data, though the last one happens less often for tourist cards.  It’s important to know that visa fees are non-refundable, and if you stay longer than the allowed time, you will be fined SAR 100 per day.

 4.3. Visitor visas, length of stay, and penalties for overstaying

Standard tourist eVisas are good for one year and allow repeated entries.  This means that a tourist can enter Saudi Arabia more than once in 365 days from the date the visa was issued.  For each stay, the longest period of time is 90 days.  Over the course of one year, however, the total length of all stays cannot be more than 180 days.

While this policy gives visitors a lot of freedom, it also means that rules must be strictly followed.  If you overstay your visa by even one day, you could face harsh punishments.  People who break the rules could be fined SAR 100 per day they stay in the country illegally. In the worst cases, they could be detained, sent back to their home country, and not be able to come back.

5. Strategic Considerations and Recommendations

 Saudi Arabia’s visa policy is not a set document; it is an ever-changing tool of state government.  The 2025 visa limits show that the government is ready to take quick and harsh steps to keep its borders secure, especially during important times like Hajj.  These steps are not an end to the push for tourism; instead, they are a planned way to control how visitors act and protect national interests.

 This changing climate means that travelers and organizations need to be careful and proactive when planning their trips.  Using old information can get you turned away from an airplane, keep you from getting into a country, or cause other major travel problems.  Because of this, travelers and business travel managers should check with official sources like the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the official eVisa portal, as well as their airline or travel agent, right before they book their trip and leave.  Businesses that depend on people traveling to the Kingdom often will find it hard to run now that the policy has changed for the 14 countries that are affected.  From one annual visa to a new application for each trip, there are more costs and administrative work to do.  Industry research says that companies with workers from these countries should look at their travel and immigration policies and make changes as needed to adapt to this change.  It is also important to communicate with workers ahead of

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Saudi Visas for UAE Residents