Saudi Arabia updates its international travel rules
Saudi Arabia will allow vaccinated residents to travel abroad and return if they do not enter or pass through certain countries, authorities said.
Travellers and residents who have been inoculated must “ensure they have a valid visa before entering the kingdom and cannot be travelling indirectly or directly to places marked unsafe by the ministry”, a source from Jawazat (General Directorate of Passports) in Jeddah told The National.
Flights resumed from August, although services were shut down again this year as coronavirus case numbers rose.
Residents are choosing to travel to safer destinations such as Dubai and Bahrain, as opposed to countries on the list of suspended destinations, to avoid being banned from the kingdom.
On May 17, Saudi Arabia reopened its borders for those who had been vaccinated. More than 78,740 Saudi citizens travelled abroad that day and more than 40,000 did so on May 18, passport authorities said.
“We receive updates every 48 hours from the ministry. All our updates go directly to our website where people can check the requirements of the country they wish to travel to every two days,” a Saudia airlines source told The National.
“We have had a lot of bookings from residents over the past week, who are travelling to nearby [destinations] like Bahrain and Dubai instead of going back to home countries like India, which is on the list of suspended countries.”
Saudi citizens are required to obtain travel insurance, valid for 30 days, a day before their departure, according to the Council of Co-operative Health Insurance.
This will cover healthcare costs related to the coronavirus.
The passport authorities have urged those travelling to the kingdom, including GCC citizens and new visa holders, to register their proof of vaccination on the Muqeem internet vaccine registration page before their arrival.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation also issued a circular to all airlines operating flights to Saudi Arabia, calling on them to register data on vaccinated passengers, including non-Saudis and those travelling from safe countries.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry last week reinstated a ban on citizens travelling directly or indirectly to Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela and Yemen without permission.