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Saudi Arabia announces 'personal visit' visa mechanism

KUALA LUMPUR: Saudi Arabia launched a new "personal visit" visa mechanism yesterday to facilitate those who want to visit friends or acquaintances who are Saudi citizens in the country.

The visa also enables the visitors to travel between the Kingdom's regions and cities, perform Umrah rituals, visit Makkah and Madinah and other religious and historical sites, and attend cultural events.

According to the official Twitter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the move aims to increase the number of foreign visitors to the country, in line with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

"Applications can be done on the electronic visa platforms and the process is very easy and convenient," said the ministry.

Saudi citizens can invite their friends and acquaintances to visit Saudi Arabia by submitting a request for a personal visit on the visa platform and applying for a "visit" request under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by logging in through the unified national access platform, and filling out the data for the invitees.

Personal visit visa applications can be submitted through the eVisa platform and the request will then be processed before a "personal visit visa document" is issued, where data can be viewed through the "invitation request" query service.

The ministry further added that visitors can complete the process of paying fees and medical insurance after filling in the entry visa application form in the visa platform, and submit the application and passport to the Saudi embassy or consulate in the country of origin or through a centre, an office recognised by the embassy or consulate. - Bernama

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