RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced on Thursday, November 25, that it will allow direct entry from six countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Egypt without spending 14-day quarantine in a third country.
The new directive will come into force from 1:00 am on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021; the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an official source of the Ministry of Interior.
Brazil and Vietnam are the other countries that are included in the new list of countries allowed direct entry into the Kingdom. All those who come from these countries are required to spend five days in institutional quarantine, regardless of their immunization status outside the Kingdom, the source said.
The ministry source said that it will continue applying the exemptions issued earlier with regard to quarantine for some categories of travelers. After Thursday’s decision to allow direct entry from six countries, the remaining countries that are still facing the travel ban are Turkey, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.
“All the procedures and measures are subject to continuous evaluation by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom, according to the developments in the epidemiological situation globally,” the source said adding that the decision was taken after a continuous follow-up of the pandemic situation locally and globally, as well as after examining reports of the Saudi health authorities about the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent of the stability of the epidemiological situation in a number of countries.
Saudi Arabia had temporarily suspended all international flights from March 15, 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Though the suspension of international flight service lifted after one year on May 17, 2021, it was not applicable to 20 countries due to the coronavirus situation in those countries.
