RIYADH – The Saudi government is going to add a new visa category ‘HostVisa’ in its newly-introduced regime. This will allow expatriates in thekingdom to invite their family members on personal sponsorship for up to 90days.
The Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat) and the Ministry of Haj andUmrah are deliberating on the introduction of the “host visa” service. Thenew category will be regulated through the Ministry of Interior’s portal‘Absher.’
The new visa system will let citizens and expats host three to five Umrahpilgrims. As for citizens, they can sponsor anyone for up to 90 days, whilethe expats can only bring their close relatives.
As per sources, the authorities are working on the mechanism for the hostvisa, which will cost 500 Saudi Riyal for a year. After the issuance of apermit, a person can visit the Kingdom at least thrice a year.
The expats will be free to host their guests anywhere at the hotels,apartments, or their residence.
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The individuals entering the KSA under host visas will be registered in theCivil Status registry of citizens and the Absher portal. There will be norestriction on their movements across the country after registration.
The host will be responsible for the wellbeing of their guests until theydepart the country.
