Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - How quick for Saudi visa

I need a Saudi Transit visa (I believe) As I am thinking of taking SQ to JED and making a connection there.. If I go to an embassy in SIngapore or Denmark how quick is the turn around?

It involves a great deal of bureaucracy -- you'll need a local contact to submit a request to the Min of Foreign Affairs, who then needs to fax it to your local embassy. If you're using an embassy not in your country of residence, the process takes longer. My average is 3-4 weeks (and that includes gov't people expediting for me)

Why are you transiting at JED?

Hi,

You should double-check in advance that they will indeed issue you the visa in the third country. On several occasions I have applied for visas in Germany and Bahrain. Each time they demand that I prove residency in those countries. And they always try to talk me into applying for it in my home country, which is obviously an inconvenience if you are already in the Middle East.

If you are travelling in the Middle East you may consider getting a second passport. This is possible if you are a U.S. citizen, for instance. This will allow you to continue travelling internationally but also permit you to send the passport by courier to embassies around the globe. If you are applying for a second one, you can always use travel to Israel AND GCC countries as a reason. Mention specifically Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, which specifically do not let visitors with Israeli stamps in their passports. Do not mention Dubai, which seems to be the only GCC port of entry that specifically does not prohibit this.

Generally speaking the visa process with the Saudis is fairly random. Sometimes it goes extremely quickly. Other times slowly. It always helps if you know someone on the inside. Good luck.

I suspect that you are using some kind of RTW Star ticket which is why you want to transit here. You might consider transitting in Kuwait instead if you you are not able to get a visa. Another option is taking BMI to Bahrain, which I believe recently announced services. Both Kuwait and Bahrain have much fewer visa restrictions - most of the typical developed countries' citizens can get in only by paying a small fee at the airport.

From http://www.arab.net/saudi/sa_visas.htm:

Transit visas
Airport transit visas
There are 24 and 48 hour transit visas for people passing through Saudi airports. These are issued only after you have satisfied the Saudi embassy that you had absolutely no choice but a transit stop in the Kingdom. If you do get this kind of visa, you will have to surrender your passport to the immigration authorities at the airport and collect it on your way out.
If the above applies to you, then I think you would not need a sponsor in Saudi-Arabia, but you would still have to apply through a Saudi embassy. AFAIK the time to obtain the visa could be anything from 1-3 days to weeks.

Your visa will take the amount of time the embassy officials see fit - generally speaking, times frames are guidlines only.

Jeddah is a terrible airport to be transiting through...that said it should be a unique experience. Don't expect anything much. A shame this airport is so undeveloped considering it is the gateway for annual Haj pilgrimage. Also considering Saudi is one of the wealthiest nations on earth :td: :confused:

Saudi Arabian are quite good. I have only used them internally.
Have a nice flight :)

With proper official paperwork, I've always gotten same day visas at Saudi Embassies in Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. In LA, I just walked in off the street and they took good care of me.