Vaccinated iqama-holders allowed in KSA from countries facing travel ban

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry has allowed direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates even if their countries are facing a travel ban by the Kingdom, an official source at the ministry announced.

The decision only allows the foreigners having a valid iqama (residency permit) and those who left the Kingdom on exit and re-entry visa after taking two doses of vaccine against coronavirus from Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan is amongst the countries facing this travel ban in the backdrop of Covid spread. Countries with travel ban cannot fly their people into the Kingdom directly.

Though the decision has been announced via the sources, it is still awaited starting when it is applicable, nor has there been any flight schedule hammered out for it.

The travelers can instead choose to quarantine themselves in a transit destination before they can be allowed entry into the Kingdom.

Besides Pakistan, here are the countries facing the travel ban at the moment: India, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

The interior ministry source quoted by the local media said that the authorities had earlier allowed direct entry to Saudi citizens, as well as to foreign diplomats, health practitioners and their families from the countries facing travel ban.

Saudi health ministry approves of Sinopharm, Sinovac Covid vaccines

Earlier today, it was reported that the Saudi Arabian health ministry announced Sinopharm and Sinovac to be amongst the six approved vaccines against coronavirus in the Kingdom.

“In the event of giving approval to any other vaccines, it will be announced at the time through the official channels approved by the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA),” the ministry said in a statement according to the local media.

There is a possibility, said the ministry, to accept the vaccination of those who have received two doses of Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines.

However, it is a proviso that they receive a booster dose of one of the other approved vaccines in the Kingdom that are Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.