Saudi Arabia Resume International Travel, Ban Continues On 13 Countries Including India

The Ministry of Interior, Saudi Arabia on Sunday announced that the country will resume international travel from Monday, 17th May but continuing to ban travel from 13 countries.

The list of 13 countries who are facing a ban includes Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Somalia, Democratic Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Belarus, and India.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), travelers will not be allowed entry even if they visit one of the banned nations indirectly through a third country, without prior permission from the pertinent authorities.

The kingdom had imposed a ban on 20 countries in early February to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus including the UAE, Germany, the US, the UK, South Africa, France, Egypt, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.

However, travel to most of those countries will now be permitted.

The ministry exhorts all citizens willing to travel to the allowable countries to take care and avoid spots of instability or witnessing the virus outbreak and to abide by all precautionary measures, regardless of their destinations.

The civil aviation authority (GACA) said that from May 20 non-Saudi visitors arriving in the kingdom from eligible countries by air who are fully vaccinated, or have had COVID-19 and recovered, will no longer have to spend seven days in government-approved hotels as long as they provide an official vaccination certificate upon arrival.

Currently, all travelers coming into the kingdom need to quarantine for a period of seven to 14 days depending on the countries where they are coming from and provide negative PCR tests.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi To End Quarantine For All International Travelers From July 1