Saudi Arabia: Electronic Visa Replaces Visa Sticker for Select Countries

Effective immediately, visa applicants in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, are issued an electronic visa with a QR code instead of having the visa sticker endorsed on their passports. This new process affects business visa, short-term work authorization, and work visa applicants who may download a copy of their visa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ electronic system, streamlining the application process. It is recommended that foreign nationals hold a printed copy of their visa when boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia to facilitate entry. Despite the new process going into effect on May 1, 2023, in practice, many applicants from the affected countries are still receiving their visa in the form of a sticker on their passport. It is expected that the transition to electronic visas will be implemented gradually to apply in all countries.