Saudi finalising regulations to issue temporary visas

Saudi Arabia is currently finalising the regulations required to issue temporary visas, with the framework in the “final stages”, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, citing the ministry of Labour.

“The temporary visa provides a six-month stay to beneficiaries [working for] government entities, factories, agricultural institutions, or any other seasonal labour market entities,” SPA quoted Rashid Al-Otaibi, manager of seasonal and temporary visas and Hajj visas as saying.

If the number of visas to be issued by an entity exceeds 10, they must include beneficiaries of different nationalities, he added.

Saudi Arabia has been modifying its visa framework as it moves towards diversifying its economy under the Vision 2030 strategy.

Last week, the Saudi Cabinet passed a new resolution allowing Umrah pilgrims to travel across the kingdom. Previously, visitors with Umrah visas were restricted to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well as Jeddah.

The move is hoped to boost tourism in the country.

Read: Saudi eases restrictions on Umrah pilgrims traveling across the kingdom

Earlier this year, it was also reported that the kingdom is mulling a plan to grant visa-free access to its non-religious tourism sites to visitors from select nations.

The plan is expected to be rolled out by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed officials as saying in March.

The kingdom could grant visa-free access or visas on arrival to visitors from the United States, Europe, Japan and China, the report stated.

Read: Saudi mulls granting visa-free access to visitors from certain nations