The new directive will come into force on December 1.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced to permit direct entry to visitors from six countries including India and Pakistan into the Kingdom without spending a 14-day quarantine in a third country.
The new directive of the Saudi Ministry of Interior will come into force from December 1 this year, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, quoting an official source on Thursday.
The countries that have been allowed direct entry to the Kingdom are India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil , Vietnam and Egypt. However, the passengers still need to quarantine for five days within the country after they land, regardless of their vaccination status outside the Kingdom.
The Saudi ministry said the decision was based on the kingdom’s evaluation of the current Covid-19 situation.
However, the ministry stressed the importance of adhering to all the precautionary and preventive measures adopted to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“All procedures and measures are subject to continuous evaluation by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom in accordance with the developments in the epidemiological situation across the world,” SPA quoted ministry statement.
Saudi Arabia had suspended all international flights on March 15, 2020, excluding diplomats, Saudi nationals, medical staff, and their families, to help stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The suspension of international flight service was lifted after one year on May 17, 2021, which was not applicable to 20 countries including India due to the Covid-19 situation in those countries.
The flights remained suspended from India, the US, Egypt, Pakistan, Argentina, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Italy, Portugal, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Lebanon, UAE, and Turkey.
