Originally Posted by
HypnoticSpecter
Please kindly post updates, I just applied mine and flying 1 March. Going to the local embassy is no problem (but from google maps it looks like a travel agent more than an embassy. Wonder if they can make this happen).
if visa on arrival can be applied (depending on passport country) then why would one need a visa> 11 hrs ? I am right on the border line with a 12.xx hrs transfer. I used ksa visa as SV website gave me an option of a ticket booked with them but always ended up with technical error.
I might try to print out payment form and visa application for to check in, from Seoul, hopefully allowed to board aircraft, and if so worst comes to worst I am staying in RUH for 12 hours.
After a few mails back and forth to MOFA and the embassy I gave up and wrote my 25$ off. On Ksavisa.sa my (paid) application is still status ' sent to embassy'. Never heard from the embassy apart from the vague mail back I got on the day I travelled outbound, suggesting I have to show up at the embassy (which was impossible by that time). They let 2 weeks slip without any notice. On my reply if they could give an e-stopover visa similar as you get via Saudia never any reply - they play deaf. I tried to get one via the Saudia website repeatedly and got the infamous 'technical issue' error, I did not even make it to the payment site. I decided to accept my loss and booked the 100 Euro+ airside airport hotel at Jeddah. My conclusions:
- Saudia does not have its website in order when it comes down to stopover visa. It is not clear if you only get it when you book directly with Saudia and/or you have to apply directly when booking or if you can add it later. My experience with an OTA booking is you do not get through. In November 2023 with a direct SV booking I could add a free hotel and the stopover visa later.
- Apparently (see posts above) the free hotel is gone -> no need to book a stopover visa unless you have to stop more as the maximum time (11 hours I understand)
- Do not trust stopover visa application option via ksavisa.sa. You likely end up like me - you pay 25$, and the application ends up in a dark hole without that anyone feels any responsability for providing you the visa. If you have an application in the process, I would mail, call and so on repeatedly to MOFA and embassy until it is clear how you get it (with hindsight I should have started doing this days after submission the application and with some luck I still could have gone to the embassy if needed. For me not a big thing since embassy is in my home town...but imagine you live in rural France, UK, or Germany and you have to go physically to the capital. Bummer. Much higher costs as buying a 100 Euro Visa on arrival). I would not try ksavisa.sa anymore unless you are absolutely in need of a transit visa due to the length of transer.
Overall, where the KSA tries to attract tourists by offering stopover visa etc., this is such a mess that in fact they scare people off. Losing 25$ is not the end of the world, but in fact it works out like a scam you only see from these inofficial visa sites that broker visa for you for top dollar.