Travellers from UAE, 10 other countries to be allowed into Saudi Arabia from tomorrow

Cairo: Travellers coming from the UAE, Germany, US, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Japan, will be allowed to enter the kingdom, Saudi authorities said today.

Due to stability in the epidemiological scene and effective pandemic-controlling efforts in those countries, Saudi Arabia has decided to allow travellers coming from the 11 countries, starting from Sunday 1 am, an official source at the Interior Ministry.

Travellers arriving from those countries will undergo into institutional quarantine procedures if required, starting from 1 am tomorrow, Sunday.

In February, Saudi Arabia temporarily halted flights with several countries, exempting Saudis, diplomats and health workers from the ban.

Original 'ban list'

The 20 countries on the ban list were Argentina, the UAE, France, Germany, the US, Indonesia, India, Japan, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Brazil, Portugal, the UK, Turkey, South Africa, Sweden, the Swiss Confederation, Lebanon, and Egypt.

The ban also included arrivals from other countries who transited any of the 20 countries during the 14 days prior to applying to enter Saudi Arabia.

International travel resumed on May 17

On May 17, the kingdom fully lifted restrictions on the overseas travel for Saudi citizens, excluding those countries, after 16 months of suspension due to precautions taken to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

On that day, the kingdom also reopened all its borders, allowing vaccinated foreign residents to travel abroad and return as long as they do not enter certain countries where the virus sitiation raises concerns.

Last week, the Saudi civil aviation authorities stressed the need for all passengers arriving in the country to observe all health precautions applied at airports and their facilities.

The Saudi authorities also instructed airlines operating in the countries to register data on vaccinated travellers.