RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday the extension of the validity of visit visas for the purpose of tourism. The extension covers the visas that were not used due to the suspension of the travel of tourists to the Kingdom following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the National Information Center and the Ministry of Tourism, has extended the validity of visit visas for the purpose of tourism," the ministry said in a statement adding that this is part of the efforts of the Saudi government to mitigate the effects of the precautionary measures taken to stem the spread of the pandemic. The ministry has extended automatically tourist visas issued for all countries before March 24, 2021, and the beneficiaries have been notified about the extension via their e-mail, the statement added. Saudi Arabia lifted the suspension of entry for tourist visa holders, starting from Aug. 1, 2021 after a gap of nearly one and a half years. According to the new regulations, fully vaccinated tourists can enter the Kingdom without needing to enter an institutional quarantine provided if they present vaccination certificates upon arrival and proof of negative PCR tests conducted within 72 hours from the time of departure. Visitors to the Kingdom are also required to register their data related to vaccination doses on the electronic portal https://muqeem.sa/#/vaccine-registration/home.
