Saudi Arabia will lift a ban on travelers arriving from a select group of countries including the UAE and the UK where coronavirus cases show stability, the kingdom’s Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday.
An official source at the ministry said in comments published by the Saudi Press Agency that visitors from the UAE, Germany, the United States, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Japan will be allowed to enter the kingdom from Sunday.
The source affirmed that quarantine rules will be applied on those coming from all those countries, with measures coming into force at 1am local time.
The announcement is based on the Public Health Authority’s report regarding the “epidemiological situation in a number of declared countries, which showed stability and effectiveness in controlling the pandemic in some of these countries”, a statement said.
Earlier this month the kingdom reopened its borders for international travel amid strict restrictions designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Passengers arriving in Saudi Arabia must provide a vaccination certificate showing they have received an approved shot, according to guidelines issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation earlier this month. Approved vaccines include Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.
All non-Saudi passengers over the age of eight must submit a negative PCR coronavirus test that has been completed within 72 hours of boarding the flight.
On arrival, passengers – except those exempt – must complete quarantine at an approved facility at their own cost for seven days. A PCR test must be done on the seventh day, and if the test is negative, travellers can exit quarantine the next day.
For those who must quarantine, they must do so in the city of arrival, and reservation of institutional quarantine will be made through the air carriers.
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