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Updated January 2024

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Saudi Arabia is a platform that issues different kinds of visas to citizens and residents. One such visa issued by the MOFA is the family visit visa, given to the immediate family members of the legal residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia who are living outside of KSA to visit their families in the Kingdom.

Please keep reading to find out more about KSA’s MOFA family visit visa, its types, eligibility, documents required, status check, price and more.

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Saudi family visit visa latest news

Saudi Arabia is mandating expatriates to register fingerprints of their family members once they turn six years old or older. This directive, issued by the General Directorate of Passports, is essential for accessing the country’s services. The authorities have introduced new facilities allowing foreign residents on exit/re-entry visas to return until their visas expire.

Additionally, expats can extend their exit/re-entry visas electronically while outside the country by paying fees through platforms like Absher or Muqeem. It’s required that an expatriate’s passport remains valid for at least 90 days for exit/re-entry visas and 60 days for final exit visas.

What is the MoFA family visit visa?

The family visit visa is a legal document provided by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) which enables beneficiaries to obtain visitation requests for their first-degree relatives namely parents, wife, and children.

Saudi family visit visa requirements

Only a legal Saudi resident or citizen who is an Iqama holder can apply for the MoFA family visit visa on behalf of the visitor. Mentioned below are the pre-requisites to apply for a Saudi family visit visa:

fill out the e-form that is available on the page e-visas services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. After that, seal and validate it electronically from the Chamber of Commerce or from the employer.
enter all the required information in Arabic except the names of the applicants who are from non-Arab countries. The entered names should be identical to the ones written on their passports.
the residence permit should be valid for residents.
the applicant must be a first-degree relative.
for residents, the applicant must hold a work visa, and he or she should not be an accompanying person.

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The Iqama holder has to initiate the MoFA family visit visa application process in Saudi Arabia. Please note that the Iqama holder’s dependents cannot use their own Iqamas to apply for the visit visa application.

The following documents are required to apply for the MoFA family visit visa:

copy of sponsor Iqama holder’s passport
valid International Passport (Minimum 6 months validity remaining) for the applicant
copy of the Iqama or residency permit for the sponsor
4 passport-size photos
apostilled copy of the National ID card of the applicant
marriage certificate, which you might need to apostille
minors (under 18 years) traveling alone or with one parent must submit a notarized letter in Arabic or English signed by a parent or a legal guardian.

Who are eligible for a Saudi family visit visa?

A family visit visa can only be issued to immediate family members. The following people are eligible for a family visit visa under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA):

parents
children
father-in-law and mother-in-law
husband or wife
brothers or sisters and their families (wives/husbands and their children)

Saudi family visit visa application procedure

Please note that the details can be filled up in English or Arabic. To apply for a family visit visa in MOFA, follow the steps given below:

Fill up the application

go to the Family Visit Visa Application for Residents portal on the MOFA website
click on ‘Apply’ under the ‘Family Visit Visa Application for Citizens’ option
click on the ‘Login’ option to log into the MOFA website
you will then be forwarded to the Login page. Select the option of ‘Username and Password’
enter your Absher account’s Username (Iqama Number) and Password and select ‘Sign In’
enter the OTP sent to your registered mobile number for your Absher account
click on ‘Tracking’ and you will now be successfully logged into the MOFA website
again, click on ‘Apply’ under the ‘Family Visit Visa Application for Residents’ option
your personal information will now be displayed on the screen. Scroll down to start filling up the Application form
for the ‘Visit Objectives’ column, you will be required to type in ‘Family Visit Only’ in Arabic. Please use Google Translate or ask anyone knowing Arabic to help you out in case you are not fluent in the language
In case you have visited Saudi Arabia before, you will be required to fill in the ‘Entry Visa Number’ column by entering your Visa Number stamped on top of your passport. However, you can also choose to leave it in case of a first-time visit
then, under the ‘Wanted to Visit’ column, click on ‘Add’
fill in all the applicant’s Personal Information, including their Nationality, Arabic Family Name, Arabic Grand Name, Arabic Father Name, Arabic First Name, Birth Date, Birth Place, Gender, Occupation (must be typed in Arabic), Mobile, Email, Religion and Relation. Please note that all the applicant’s information provided must match accurately with their passport
on the same page, fill in the applicant’s Passport Information, including Passport Number, Passport Type, Passport Issue Date, Passport Expiry Date, and Passport Issue Place
again on the same page, fill in the applicant’s Visa Information, including Coming Place (the nearest Saudi Embassy city in your country) and Number of Entries, which is the type of family visit visa (Multiple Entry/Single Entry) you want to apply for
click on ‘Add’ after filling up all the required information correctly. The Applicant’s personal information will now be displayed on the screen under the ‘Wanted to Visit’ column
double-check all the details correctly, and click on ‘Edit’ in case of any wrong information being provided
in case you want to add more than one applicant, click on the ‘Add’ button and follow the same process; otherwise, click on ‘Agreement Approval’ and select the ‘Save’ button to proceed
the MOFA website will now generate the Applicant’s ‘Order Number’, and the ‘Request a Family Visa’ application form of the applicant will now be displayed on the screen
scroll down and make sure to re-check all the information provided
once completed, click on ‘Print’ to download and save the application form, or directly print the application for further processing

Get approval from the sponsor or the Chamber of Commerce

Once the Saudi legal resident/Iqama holder has printed out the MOFA family visit visa application form online, they will be required to take it to the sponsor to sign and stamp the document.

The Saudi Chamber of Commerce can attest to the MOFA application form if required for Private Company workers. Chamber of Commerce attestation is done online by the sponsor company or the sponsor themselves. On the other hand, government employees are required to submit the application form to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Please note that the employer of domestic workers can approve their visas through their Absher accounts. They are not required to submit the application form anywhere.

Send the completed form or visa number to the visitor

It usually takes a week or less for the approval status to be reflected in the MOFA portal after the sponsor signs and stamps the application form. You can check the status of the MOFA visa application by using the applicant’s order number and record number (Iqama number), from the MoFA website, under their ‘Enquiry’ column.

If the visa application has been granted, the MOFA website will display ‘Visa Document’ instead of the ‘Request a Family Visa’ application form. Additionally, the applicant’s ‘Order Number’ will now be changed to the applicant’s ‘Visa Document Number’.

You can now save the visa document and send the scanned copy of the completed, signed, and stamped application form to your family member applying for the MOFA Family Visit Visa outside Saudi Arabia.

Ensure that once you get the Family Visit Visa MOFA approval, you get the QR code of your visa information within 90 days from the approval date.

Submit the documents to the Saudi Embassy or the visa agency

Your family members can contact an agent or personally submit the documents to their country’s Saudi Embassy or the Saudi Consulate. Depending on where they are, they might be able to get the visa along with their passport by mail or in person.

Saudi Arabia has a list of approved agencies all over the world to apply for a visa. If you cannot find an approved agency, write to the Saudi consulate in your country and ask them about it.

Saudi family visit visa processing time

The Saudi Arabia family visit visa processing time is generally around 3 days. Although, a few factors, such as a high volume of applications and the invitation approval, may cause delays in processing your visa permit.

Saudi family visit visa extension

Both single and multiple-entry visit visas now allow a stay duration of 90 days in the Kingdom. This means they can be extended twice, taking the total duration of stay to 270 days. Family visit visas may be extended more than once through Absher, provided the total period of the extensions does not exceed six months, i.e. 180 days (this excludes Syrian nationals). The extension period shall be equal to the duration of the basic visa.

Please note that according to Jawazat, extending the multiple-entry family visit visa requires adherence to Saudi Arabia’s departure regulations. This means that after a period of three months, holders of multiple-entry family visit visas must depart the country before the extension process is allowed to proceed. Those not adhering to this requirement will be subject to fines.

To get your Saudi visit visa extended, you’ll first need to obtain medical insurance covering the entire duration of the extension from licensed insurance companies in the Kingdom, such as Tawuniya, Bupa, Medgulf, GulfUnion etc.

The extension fee for any Saudi Arabia visit visa is SAR 100 (USD 26.59). If you are applying for an extension of your Saudi visa after three days of its expiry date, you will be required to pay an additional fee of SAR 500 (USD 133) as a fine.

To know more about the rules and procedures for Saudi family visit visa extension, check out our dedicated article.

Saudi Visit Visa Extension: How to Get Your Family Visit Visas Extended?

Saudi family visit visa fees

The cost of a single and multiple entry for a MoFA Saudi family visit visa is fixed at SR 200. This applies to all applicants, including the ones from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Saudi family visit visa application status check

You can check the MOFA family visit visa status from the MOFA website. Here are the steps you can take to check the validity of your Saudi family visit visa.

go to https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/
change the inquiry type to ‘issued invitation request’
provide your visa number and ID number (Iqama number).
enter the Captcha code correctly
click on ‘Search’

Provided you’ve entered all the required information correctly, the next page will display all information concerning your Saudi family visit visa status.

Saudi family visit visa validity

The validity period of the MoFA Saudi family visit visa is as follows:

the Single Entry Visit Visa – issued for a period of 30 days. This type of visa can receive 5 possible extensions of 30 days each (180 days in total)
the Multiple Entry Visit Visa – issued for a period of 90 days with up to 4 allowed re-entries

Saudi family visit visa renewal

The single-entry family visit visa can be renewed up to 5 times. However, renewing your multiple-entry Saudi family visit visa for the second time is impossible. You must adhere to the visa control system and depart from the Kingdom before the visa expires.

Those who wish to renew or extend their Saudi family visit visa can visit their nearest Jawazat office by making an appointment online at the Absher platform:

login to the Absher platform
select “Passport Services” under e-services
choose “Visit Visa Extension”
enter the required information and attachments
pay the fees
submit your application

The fee for a family visit visa extension is SAR 100. The overstay on behalf of the family visit visa in Saudi Arabia will result in a hefty fine of 25,000 Riyals per visitor. For further information about the requirements for the visa extension, please consult the Unified National Platform GOV.SA.

Saudi family visit visa Qr status

As of the new announcement, instead of visa stickers on your passport, you will receive a QR code that contains your visa information. This is part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to automate consular services and facilitate the visa process for different purposes.

Just like checking the status of the visa, the online procedure to check the visa stamping status is also quite straightforward. All you have to do is:

go to https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/
change the inquiry type to ‘issued invitation request’
provide your visa number and ID number (Iqama number).
enter the Captcha code correctly.
click on ‘Search’

For more information, you can approach the MoFA. Mentioned below are the details for the same:

Office Location: 7737 An Nasiriyah, 4276, An Namudhajiyah, Riyadh 12735, Saudi Arabia
Telephone: 920011114
Mail: [email protected]
Customer Support Hours: 8 AM – 4 PM
For support and complaints: Contact GOV.SA

You can view the visit visa stamping status on the next page.