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Which Saudi Visa Do You Need?
When travelling to Saudi Arabia, whether for a short business trip, a meeting or moving permanently with your family, each require a specific visa. Choosing the right visa is essential to remaining compliant on your trip.
For business trips, there are three main visas available:
If you are visiting to work in the Kingdom temporarily on a project or other short term work basis, then you will need a business visit visa. This visa allows you to work onsite and will require a letter of invitation (LOI) from the sponsoring company. The LOI is required for your visa application. The visa can be single or multiple entry and can be applied for 30, 60, 90 or 180 days duration.
If you are visiting the Kingdom for a conference, a business meeting, negotiations, sales pitch or an investment talk, then you will need a commercial visit visa. This visa will not allow you to work in the Kingdom in any capacity. This visa can be single or multiple entry and can be applied for 30, 60, 90 or 180 days duration.
If you are permanently moving to the Kingdom for work, then you will need a work visa. This visa allows you to rent a house, open a bank account and attain a Saudi drivers license. To obtain this visa, the individual will need to present their employment contract, academic documents and medical test results to the Saudi embassy/consulate in their home country or to the Saudi authorities by the sponsor to issue a visa number.
Visa requirements
The visa requirements for applicants are a passport with at least 6 months left before expiration, two facing pages and applicants mustn’t have restrictions or conditions that prevent them from travelling.
Visa compliance
It is essential the visa you are visiting the Kingdom on aligns with the purpose of your visit. Compliance is an essential part of doing business in Saudi and it’s essential that you follow any laws or regulations associated with your visa. To ensure you remain compliant, carefully check your duration of stay, the number of entries allowed, complete your due diligence when finding a visa sponsor and that the visa details are suitable for your requirements.