Riyadh: A sense of jubiliation and excitement writ large on the faces of visitors who arrived in Saudi Arabia on free stopover transit visa Wednesday February 01, 2023.
King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh received the first batches of passengers with transit visas o Wednesday, according to Saudi Gazette.
The decision to start transit visa was first reported by Saudia, the flag carrier of the Kingdom, in January.
In a statement the airlines had said visitors to Saudi Arabia will be able to get Saudi Transit Visa while booking their air tickets.
“The entire procedure should take less than 3 minutes”, the airlines said.
Accordingly, the immigration offices of the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) at the Saudi airports from January 30, 2023.
The Jawazat confirmed that it completed all arrangements related to the arrival and travel procedures of transit visa holders at all Saudi airports.
"Truely enjoyable", a visitor is quoted by the local media.
"The new service has indeed made our journey to the Kingdom much easier", another said.
The visa is for 4 days or 96 hours and visa holders can visit any place in the Kingdom. The validity of the visa is three months. It means that visitors can use the same visa on repeat-journey within three months.
The transit visa that comes with airline ticket cannot be used to perform Hajj as the annual pilgrimage requires a stay in the Kingdom for extended time. Also, it is mandatory for pilgrims to get Hajj permit for annual pilgrimage to Makkah.
The visitors holding the transit visa can use it to enter Makkah and perform Umrah. But for that they will need to register online using Nusuk app.
The transit visa holders can also visit Masjid Nabawi, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most visited countries in the world. According to Saudi officials, more than 81 million Muslims from around the world visited the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah from July 30 to December 13, 2022.
The officials further said that the Kingdom issued 4 million visas for overseas Muslims to perform Umrah since the start of the current season in July.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has announced to restore the pilgrims’ quota for the Hajj 2023 (Hajj 1444 AH) to the pre-pandemic level. It means that more than 2.5 million Muslims will throng the Holy sites in Makkah and Madinah for the annual pilgrimage in June this year.
Before the Hajj season, the Kingdom will also see a huge rush of travellers during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting which is likely to start on March 23, 2023.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
