Saudi Arabia Online Tourist eVisa for Portuguese Citizens
As a part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to push the number of visitors from 18 million per year to 100 million by 2030, according to a statement by Al Khateeb, quoted by Arab News. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened doors of the kingdom to tourists from 49 countries, including Portugal. Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world and in order to make the most of it, Saudi Arabia has also launched an electronic tourist visa in 2019. This way, the country aims to attract foreign tourism, while cutting down on its dependency on the oil industry. Foreign nationals can now visit the five UNESCO Heritage Sites and other historic places of the kingdom.
Documents Required For Portuguese Citizens
Visa requirements for Portugese citizens are simple and the application process is 100% online. It can be done from any part of the world, filling in the application form online. The Saudi e-visa allows you to stay in the kingdom for up to 90 days within a period of one year. In addition, you will need to produce certain documents when you arrive in Saudi Arabia. These include:
PASSPORT
A Portuguese passport that is valid for at least six months from your arrival date. It should contain at least one blank page for the entry stamp.
TOURIST E VISA
A copy of the electronic visa, which would have been sent to you via email.
CURRENCY DECLARATION
According to the rules laid down by the Saudi government, you can carry up to SAR 60,000 while entering and exiting the country. If you exceed the cash limit, you will need to inform the officials. In case you fail to do so, you could face severe punishment, including imprisonment.
HEALTH DOCUMENTS
Vaccination proofs for Polio, Yellow Fever, Tetanus, Hepatitis A, etc., will have to be produced. Besides these, medical insurance of $26,666 is a must for each tourist, without which you will not permitted to enter the country.
The Saudi e-visa allows visitors to enter and exit the country as many times as they wish to within the one-year period of validity of the e-visa.
How To Apply For A Saudi Electronic Visa
The application process is easy and can be completed in just 10 minutes online. In order to fulfill the visa requirements for Portuguese citizens, complete the following steps.
STEP 1: VISIT SAUDI ARABIA’S OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC VISA PORTAL
The first and foremost step is to log into the official e-visa website of Saudi Arabia.
STEP 2: CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Next, create an account for the e-visa application. With this account, you can fill up the application form and also check on the status of your application. Once you register for an account, a link will be sent to the email address you provide to activate the account. You will need to click this link within 24 hours of it being sent to activate your account.
To register for the account, you will need to enter some basic details, such as your name, e-mail address and phone number, along with your login info, such as username and password. You will also have to enter the verification code sent to you via email.
STEP 3: APPLY FOR THE SAUDI ARABIA ONLINE VISA
Enter all your personal details, such as full name, gender, country of birth, marital status, occupation and residential address on the first page.
Next, upload a recent photo of yourself, where your entire face and forehead are clearly visible. The dimension requirements of the photo are 200×200 pixels and the size should be between 3KB and 100 KB. Make sure the photo is in .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif or .bmp format.
You will also be required to fill in the purpose of travel to Saudi Arabia and your place of accommodation in the country. On the following page, fill in the purchase details of the mandatory medical insurance. The medical insurance will be provided by the Saudi authorities, along with your visa, the payment for which is included in the visa fee.
STEP 4: PAY THE VISA FEE
The last step is to make an online payment of SAR463.44. This includes the visa fee of SAR300, insurance fee of SAR133, 5% VAT, which comes to SAR22, and the transaction fee of SAR8.44. You can make the payment via credit or debit card.
Having a tourist visa does not mean you have the right to enter the country. The immigration officers at the port of entry take the final decision. In case you do not fulfill the visa requirements for Portuguese citizens, the officers could refuse entry.
Saudi Arabia Points Of Entry
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia consists of 15 domestic and 13 international airports. However, only specific airports permit the entry of foreign tourists with an e-visa. These are
- Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) – Madinah
- King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) – Jeddah
- King Khalid International Airport (RUH) – Riyadh
- King Fahd International Airport (DMM) – Dammam
If this is your first time applying for the Saudi electronic visa or if you wish for a completely hassle-free visa application process, enlist the services of an experienced agency, such as Rapid Visa. We take care of the entire process and make sure there are no unnecessary delays in getting the visa.
