Saudi Arabia opened its doors to the world on Friday after it announced that tourist visas would be available to citizens from 49 countries.
Ahmed Al-Khateeb, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage (SCTH), announced the launch of the tourist visa for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at an event in Ad-Diriyah in Riyadh
Citizens from 49 countries will also be able to apply for an e-visa or receive a visa on arrival into Saudi Arabia. A dedicated online portal at visitsaudi.com was also launched and electronic kiosks are set to be available at airports to facilitate requests.
The following 49 countries will be eligible to apply for e-visas and visas on arrival:
- USA
- Canada
- Kazakhstan
- Singapore
- Brunei
- New Zealand
- South Korea
- Japan
- Spain
- Belgium
- Malaysia
- Austria
- Cyprus
- UK
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Andorra
- Denmark
- Germany
- Bulgaria
- France
- Hungary
- Czech Republic
- Holland
- Italy
- Finland
- Ireland
- Lithuania
- Greece
- Liechtenstein
- Monaco
- Iceland
- Malta
- Poland
- Latvia
- Norway
- Russia
- Luxembourg
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Montenegro
- Slovakia
- Switzerland
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Australia
- San Marino
- Ukraine
- China, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan