Saudi Arabia Visa Rules: If you are planning to go to Saudi Arabia then this news is for you. Saudi has issued a new rule for tourists coming to the country on Umrah and travel visa. Its objective is to prevent the spread of any type of infectious disease in the country.
Meningitis vaccine required for travelers
Usually lakhs of Indians visit Saudi Arabia every year. About 25 lakh Indian citizens visited Saudi Arabia in the year 2022. This figure is likely to increase to 7.5 million by 2030.
At that time the government here had made it mandatory for tourists coming to Saudi to take meningitis vaccine. So this means that now tourists coming here will have to show the certificate of taking meningitis vaccine 10 days before the trip. However, children under one year of age are excluded from this rule.
Passengers will have to show vaccination certificate
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) has asked airlines to ensure compliance with this rule. Under this, airlines will have to verify that all passengers traveling have vaccination certificates. Not only this, guidelines for polio vaccination have also been issued.
Guidelines for polio vaccination were also issued
However, this rule will apply only to travelers from certain countries. Tourists coming to Saudi Arabia via Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Congo or Mozambique will be allowed to travel only after showing polio vaccination certificates. However, this rule will apply only if their stay in the transit area lasts for more than 12 hours.
Notably, this new rule has been made in keeping with the plan made by the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent the outbreak of ampox.
