Saudi Arabia has announced new changes in immigration policy especially for Pakistani travelers. Now, People holding green passport will be required to apply with a monthly credit of US750 or a bank statement that shows the equivalent amount.
New visa condition will facilitate a massive number of Pakistani travelers who are willing to visit the Saudi Arabia. A reasonable financial amount has been set that would be easier to manage and this development in immigration will further attract more visitors to Saudi Arabia.
A significant increase in number of tourists has been recorded since last several years. In 2023, 43% surge in Pakistani travelers to Saudi Arabia was seen as compared to previous year. It is expected that 2.7 million people having green passport will visit KSA in 2024.
Six publicity offices are established to accommodate this increasing outflow of people. These offices are facilitating in Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Karachi, Multan, and capital city Islamabad.
The services like submitting applications, biometrics, visa status tracking, and passport delivery are being offered in the promotion offices. For further ease, the travelers can book time slots to get rid of longer queues.
The transit visa has also been introduced by Saudi Arabian government for Pakistani travelers who come through Saudi Airline and Flynas. Under this visa category, people will be able to stay in Saudi Arabia for up to 96 hours. Furthermore, the individuals holding US, UK, and Schengen resident permits would be able to get on arrival visa.
Last year, Saudi Arabia introduced one-year multiple entry visa for Pakistani travelers. This visa type makes all travelers to be eligible for visiting different places, cultural view, historical places, and all other tourist destinations within a time period of one year.
The multiple entry visa allows Pakistani people to perform Umrah along with visiting other tourist points. This gesture fulfills the Saudi Arabia’s commitment for boosting spiritual travel to sacred places and mutual culture.
It is expected that, the number of Pakistani travelers to Saudi Arabia will further increase because of ease in visa provisions. Both countries have long standing relations because of cultural and religious commonalities, and mutual economic interest counts as well.