Covid-19: Saudi Arabia bans citizens from travelling to 16 countries

Saudi Arabia has announced a fresh travel ban on citizens for 16 countries due to Covid-19 cases in those countries, The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) said on Saturday.

The list of countries include: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela.

The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) emphasised that the validity of the passport for Saudis, who intend to travel to non-Arab countries, must be more than six months, Saudi Gazette reported.

According to the statement, the validity of the passport should be more than three months for travelling to Arab countries. As for citizens, who travel to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, the validity of their national ID card must be more than three months.

The Jawazat reiterated that the soft copy of the national ID on Absher and Tawakkalna applications is not sufficient for travel to GCC states.

The original ID card and family registry must be produced for the travel in addition to a document of proof of dependents inside the Kingdom whose holders are unable to travel to the Gulf countries.

Regarding the health requirements for Saudis travelling outside the Kingdom, the Jawazat listed the following requirements:

- Received three doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with the third dose received after three months of taking the second dose

- Exemptions for those groups who have received a vaccine waiver on medical grounds as per the status on the Tawakkalna application

yousufk@khaleejtimes.com