Saudi Visit Visa for Indian Travellers: How to Apply for Visit Visa to the KSA From India

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Updated February 2024 

If you are an Indian national intending to travel to Saudi Arabia, it might be necessary for you to acquire a visit visa prior to your departure. Saudi Arabia is renowned for its abundant history, vibrant culture, and breathtaking landscapes, making it a sought-after destination for travellers worldwide. Whether you are organizing a trip for leisure, business purposes, or visiting your loved ones, it is crucial to familiarise yourself with the procedures involved in obtaining a Saudi visit visa.

Keep reading this Wego article to know more about available types of visit visas, ranging from tourist visas, business visas, umrah visas and family visit visas, and how travellers from India can apply for a tourist visa to the KSA.

Saudi Visit Visa 2024 news & updates

Indians traveling to the West or the Middle East can now obtain a 96-hour stopover visa for Saudi Arabia. This visa allows them to perform Umrah and explore any part of the Kingdom.

Saudi visit visa for Indians general requirements

Saudi eVisa/tourist visa

The Saudi Tourist Visa (Saudi e-Visa) is an entry authorization document allowing foreign nationals to enter Saudi Arabia for non-essential and non-religious purposes.

The Saudi Tourist Visa is a one-year, multiple-entry electronic visa allowing tourists to spend up to 90 days in the country. Please note that the total period of stay, including all the entries into Saudi Arabia, should not exceed 90 days. In other words, the 90-day limit applies to all the combined entries, not per entry into KSA.

The tourist visa covers tourism-related activities and excludes other activities such as studying. The tourist visa is available as an e-visa, visa-on-arrival and consulate visa.

Currently, Saudi e-visas can only be issued to travellers from 49 countries. Since India is not on the approved list of countries, travellers from India must contact the Saudi Embassy.

Recently the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that Umah can be performed under the Saudi tourist e-visa.

Once the application has been submitted, the authorities will review it to determine the approval or rejection based on the eligibility criteria and the documents provided by the applicants. If approved, visa holders should not overstay the duration mentioned on the visa.

Saudi family visit visa

The Saudi family visit visa is a type of visit visa issued by the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to the immediate family members of legal residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia who are living outside of KSA to visit their families in the Kingdom. A family visit visa can only be issued to immediate family members such as:

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

Only a legal Saudi resident or citizen who is an Iqama holder can apply for the family visit visa on behalf of the visitor. For this, the Iqama should be valid for at least 4 months.

Personal visit visa

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced a new entry visa dubbed the Personal visitor visa. This visit visa allows foreign nationals to enter the country via an invitation from their Saudi friends or acquaintances. With the Saudi Personal visit visa, holders may:

• freely visit the country
• travel across the Kingdom
• visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and other religious sites
• perform Umrah
• take part in cultural events 

To apply for the Saudi Personal visit visa, Saudi citizens must:

• visit the eVisa platform of the ministry’s website at https://visa.mofa.gov.sa.
• go to the “Individual Service” section of the eVisa platform
• log in through the Nafadh unified national platform
• fill out the data of the invitees by requesting a personal visit
• approve the necessary undertakings

The request will then be processed, and a Personal visit visa will be issued. The data can be viewed through the “invitation request” query service. To do so, you can take the following steps:

• visiting the MoFA visa platform
• selecting the inquiry icon
• filling in the required data
• clicking the “Inquiry” icon to know the status of the previously submitted application

Business visa

Travellers looking to enter the Kingdom for business purposes, such as meetings, conferences, and more, can apply for a Saudi business visa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website. The Saudi business visa can be a single or multiple-entry visa.

Among the required documents are:

• a valid passport (with blank pages)
• passport photographs
• completed application form
• a letter of invitation from the sponsor company in Saudi Arabia that is approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• a letter from your employer confirming your employment and upcoming trip
• any other required documents depending on the applicant’s country of origin

Umrah visa

An Umrah visa is an official document designed to facilitate Muslims wishing to embark on Makkah on Umrah. Two kinds of Umrah visas may be available to you depending on your country of origin, namely the Umrah visa and the Umrah e-visa. Both Umrah visas are valid for two weeks.

Performing Umrah under a Saudi visit visa

Ministry of Hajj and Umrah recently announced that Umrah can now be performed under a family visit visa, personal visit visa, transit visit visa, and visa on arrival.

Umrah under a family visit visa

• a person can now perform Umrah on a family visit visa. However, they need to book an appointment through the Nusuk platform.
• only those pilgrims can get a family visit visa whose relatives reside in the kingdom.
• pilgrims can apply through the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Umrah under a personal visit visa

• Saudi citizens can invite their friends outside the kingdom to perform Umrah on a personal visit visa.
• the advantage of the visit visa is that it is a single and multiple entry option visa.
• along with the Umrah ritual and visit to the Prophet’s Mosque, visitors can tour historical sites and other cultural destinations in various kingdom cities on a visit visa.
• the single-entry visa is valid for 90 days, and the multiple-entry visa is valid for a year, with the stay being 90 days.
• pilgrims can apply through the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Umrah under a transit visit visa

• pilgrims who are arriving by plane can use the transit visit visa.
• on this visa, pilgrims can not only perform the rituals of Umrah but can also visit the Prophet’s Mosque.
• the visa allows for a four-day stay in the Kingdom and is valid for 90 days.
• the visa is free of charge and is immediately issued upon purchasing an airline ticket.

To get a transit visit visa:

• pilgrims can reserve a ticket and submit a visa application through the official e-websites of Saudia Airlines or Flynas.
• the visa is issued following the air ticket issuance through the unified national visa platform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ending the visa to the beneficiary’s e-mail.
• the visa is given following the air ticket issuance through the unified national visa website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• following the procedure, the applicant will get an e-mail.

Umrah visa on arrival

• this visa applies to only a few countries of citizens like The United Kingdom, European Union countries, the USA and Canada from North America, Australia and New Zealand from the Oceania region, and Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Brunei, Malaysia and Kazakhstan can apply for visas on arrival.
• the terms and conditions of the visa are the age of the Umrah pilgrim should not be less than 18 years.
• passport validity is not less than six months.
• if a pilgrim obtains approved medical insurance inside the Kingdom, visa fees will be imposed on him/her.