UK scraps visa requirement for visitors from Saudi Arabia
Saudis can now travel to Britain for up to six months with new online electronic visa waiver
The UK is to scrap the requirement for Saudi citizens to apply for a visa before visiting Britain.
From June 1, Saudis can travel to the UK for up to six months with an online electronic visa waiver. The change also applies to citizens of Bahrain.
With the visa waiver, Saudis will no longer have to make an appointment with a visa application center, hand in their passport in advance of travel, or provide biometric information such as photos and fingerprints. Additionally, the waiver will cost a nominal fee in comparison to the previous visa cost of $125.
Eligible individuals can provide notification of travel with an electronic visa waiver up to three months before travel and as late as 48 hours before travel.
The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Neil Crompton, told Arab in March that his government was in the process of easing entry to the UK for the local Saudi population that would eventually lead to a free visa policy, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the Kingdom for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“There was a good exchange of views between the two leaders,” Crompton told Arab News. “The British government and Saudi Arabia have been good partners for a long time.”
The visa waiver scheme is expected to increase the number of Saudis who visit the UK, currently about 100,000 a year.
Surveys suggests that 54 percent of Saudi visitors are in the UK on holiday, 25 percent are visiting relatives, 10 percent are there on business and 11 percent are there for study and other activities.
Scholarships to the UK have been provided by Saudi Arabia for many years, and the Kingdom’s Ministry of Education has increased this with more types of scholarships that will allow its population additional entry points to study abroad, including to the UK.
Eligible individuals can provide notification of travel with an electronic visa waiver up to three months before travel and as late as 48 hours before travel.