Saudi Arabia visit visa for Pakistan passport holders

Saudi Arabia covers a wide range of trips, from the old town of AlUla and the lanes of Jeddah's Al-Balad to the mountains around Abha, the Red Sea coast and the Empty Quarter. For Pakistani passport holders, the planning starts with paperwork. Saudi Arabia's tourist eVisa is open to citizens of 68 countries, and Pakistan is not one of them. The portal's advice to everyone else is to contact the nearest Saudi embassy.

The rules behind this sit in the Ministry of Tourism's Tourist Visa Regulations. Anyone whose nationality is not on the eVisa list can get a tourist visa through a Saudi diplomatic mission abroad or through the digital embassy on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, visa.mofa.gov.sa. Applicants fill in the form, give biometrics, buy medical insurance approved in Saudi Arabia, register an address in the Kingdom and pay the fee, which the regulations set at SAR 300.

Pakistani applicants on this route must also show a return ticket, a hotel or other accommodation booking with their home address, an employee identification certificate and a bank statement or salary certificate. Their passport needs at least six months of validity. Travellers under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian or a safe companion. A single-entry visa is valid for three months for a stay of up to one month, and a multiple-entry visa lasts a year with up to three months in the country.

Some Pakistanis can use the faster routes. Article 7 of the regulations extends eVisa and on-arrival treatment to people holding a US, UK or Schengen tourist or business visa that has been used at least once, to permanent residents of the USA, the EU or the UK, and to holders of a GCC residence visa valid for at least three months in professions published on visitsaudi.com. Buyers of a Ministry-approved tour package are covered too. Check your eligibility on the portal before relying on this.

A tourist visa covers leisure, events, family visits and Umrah, but not Hajj, which needs its own visa. Umrah is not allowed on a tourist visa during the Hajj season, and work of any kind is forbidden. Holding a visa does not guarantee entry, and Saudi Arabia publishes no approval or refusal figures for Pakistani applicants, so apply with complete documents and a clear itinerary.