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Covid-19: Three-year travel ban for Saudis who visit “red list” countries

The Ministry of Interior added that those who do not abide by these travel rules risk facing legal action and heavy penalties upon their return

by Varun Godinho

July 28, 2021

Officials in Saudi Arabia have said that its citizens who travel to countries to which travel has been currently suspended, risk being subjected to a three-year travel ban upon their return to the kingdom.

The Ministry of Interior took to Twitter on Tuesday to attribute the decision to a source at the ministry, and warned its nationals not to travel to countries to which it has banned travel.

It added that those who do not abide by these rules will likely face legal action and heavy penalties upon their return, in addition to a three-year travel ban.

مصدر مسؤول: كل من يثبت تورطه في السفر إلى الدول الممنوع السفر إليها سيعرّض نفسه للمساءلة القانونية والعقوبات المغلظة عند عودته، ومنعه من السفر إلى خارج المملكة لمدة (3) سنوات. pic.twitter.com/ZDLdATec7u

— وزارة الداخلية (@MOISaudiArabia) July 27, 2021

The ministry called on citizens to be careful and stay away from areas where the virus is spreading and follow all precautionary procedures to protect themselves from contracting the infection.

Saudi recently banned travel to Indonesia. It has also previously suspended flights to several other countries including UAE, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Read: Saudi bans citizens from travelling to Indonesia over Covid-19 concerns

Saudi nationals are barred from travelling, directly or indirectly, to these countries, unless they obtain special permission to do so.

Expats who are stranded abroad due to the current travel restrictions will have their residence permits extended until August 31 automatically and for free. Apart from residents, the validity of visit visas for visitors who are in the countries from where entry is suspended will also be extended until August 31.

Read: Saudi Arabia to extend visa validity of expats stranded abroad until August 31

As of July 27, Saudi had reported 1,379 new domestic infections, taking the total number of recorded cases up to 520,774. There were also 10 additional deaths, taking the total number of deaths up to 8,189.