The Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia announced that from September 15, the Kingdom will partly lift the suspension of international flights which was imposed due to COVID-19. It is been six months that Saudi Arabia imposed travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be open for everyone from the start of the New Year. International flights will start to resume their operations at fullest as complete removal of travel restrictions expected in early next year. As for the Umrah pilgrimage, there will be a measured move to lift the suspension.
According to the Interior Ministry, the Kingdom will be ending all restrictions on land, air and sea transport after January 1st, 2021. The actual date will be revealed in December 2020.
However, natives or non-Saudis with iqama or visit visas are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia from September 15 after providing a COVID-19 negative certificate issued in the last 48 hours. Furthermore, you can check iqama expiry status online.
Apart from that in exceptional cases such as officials from different states, military employees, foreign embassy employees and people who need medical dealings are allowed to come and exit from the country started from September 15.
Students studying abroad can also have a moment of relief as the exceptional categories cover scholarship programs, self-funded students, medical trainers who are required to go to a foreign country for studies or training. The citizens of the Kingdom must provide proof of the residency outside in order to travel.
Jawaher Abdullatif a PHD student and resident of Jeddah said that “After receiving my acceptance letter from a university in Holland while under lockdown to continue my studies for my PhD, I kept my hopes up and waited for the announcement to come,”. “The news is a surprise, to say the least, but a good one. I can finally begin arranging for my flight and begin my studies properly.”
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