Saudi Arabia launches new visa requirement: Who is eligible, how much it costs?

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism has recently started its initial phase of the widely-anticipated Package Visa as part of their broader efforts to promote tourism under Vision 2030.

The innovative digital travel solution, aimed at streamlining travel procedures, permits international tourists to book their tickets, accommodations, essential health insurance, and e-tourist visa at the same time via a single transaction by going through registered travel agents.

Here’s an overview of the latest regulations, costs, and key differences of travel among Saudi Arabia’s key entry routes, whether you are travelling for pleasure, to perform Umrah, or attend a business conference abroad.

1. The New Saudi “Package Visa” (Tourist)

The pilot launch of the Package Visa programme is targeted at selected global regions in order to examine its e-platform functionality before it becomes accessible to all global consumers.

Country Availability for the pilot phase

The initial release enables citizens of the following seven countries to utilize the consolidated Package Visa platform:

Egypt, Bangladesh, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Mexico.

Pricing Structure and Stacking Requirements

To safeguard against undesirable, low-quality travel, the Ministry has set specific minimum spending requirements:

Initial Package: For the initial two days, the minimum expense per adult is set at 4,000 SAR (US$1,065).

Extra Days: There’s an extra charge of at least 1,000 SAR (US$266) for each additional day.

Visa fee: The price for issuing the electronic visa and purchasing tourist travel health insurance coverage will be 402.21 SAR (US$107).

Accommodation Rules: All package visa bookings must contain accommodation at a Ministry-approved hotel with a minimum rating of four stars, along with flight booking.

Processing deadline: The package visa booking must be fully finalized and settled a minimum of 48 hours before departure.

2. Tourist eVisa vs. Business Visit Visa

Business travelers have often mistaken tourist eVisas for official business trip permissions, and yet these two are quite distinct from an immigration standpoint.

A Tourist eVisa or Package Visa is used for recreation, holidays, visits to relatives and friends, and to perform Umrah. These may be single- or multiple-entry but are limited to a 90-day total stay period in Saudi Arabia over a 365-day period (resulting in a potential ‘lock-out’ after total travel duration is reached) and exclude any sort of direct labour.

A Business Visit Visa allows the holder to visit Saudi Arabia for business meetings, discussions, and feasibility studies, among others. It’s a multiple-entry visa, offering 90 days of stay for every entry (no annual total), allowing immediate re-entry after leaving and no onsite employment without proper sponsored temporary work visas.

3. New Rules for “Instant” Corporate Visas (Qiwa Platform)

Companies that wish to recruit external personnel and bring them to the Kingdom are subject to updated guidelines through the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry’s digital Qiwa platform.

New Companies (less than 2 years old): to comply with employment numbers regulations, these new firms are restricted to five total instant work visas for all purposes.

Companies (more than 2 years old): such businesses can request as many as 50 instant visas at a time in the weekly process if their company achieves a “Medium Green” status or greater under the Saudiisation ranking system.

Complaints: There has been an extension until December 31, 2026, for foreign workers to fix their expired visas. Any firm failing to do so would be fined substantially, and have their access to the system disabled.