g289t

Hey, I'll take whatever I can get!

Thank you both for the suggestions! I'm not sure how much time I'll have. I might not make it further than Khobar. Since it will be Friday, I'm a bit concerned about the time needed for the border crossings. I will be going from Bahrain to KSA in the morning, and KSA to Bahrain in the afternoon. This seems to me that it should be opposite of Saudis going to Bahrain for the day, and hopefully will reduce the time needed for my crossing. Is that actually the case? And if either of you or anyone here has crossed the border on the causeway, do you have any tips for me?

Nayef

It also depends on the day of the week. On Thursdays (especially afternoon and night) and Fridays Saudi>Bahrain is hell, and on most of Saturday (particularly afternoon and night) Bahrain>Saudi is also hell to go through. So choosing which day to go is as critical as the time. It's summer now so a lot of people are on vacation and this might make the rule of thumb a lot less flexible. If you go into Saudi in the morning, it should be fine as long as it isn't Saturday.

g289t

It will be Friday. And FWIW it will be in September. I land in Bahrain at 8:15 AM, so it will be sometime after that when I get to the border to cross into Saudi Arabia.

I do not plan to stay in Saudi Arabia long; maybe an hour or two. I am not doing this to visit KSA; I want to drive across the causeway. My flight out of Bahrain is in the evening, and I need to be back at the airport by 6 PM or so.

Nayef

I'd wager you should be fine but don't take too long going back into Bahrain because the Causeway might be filled to the brim.

g289t

I've read anecdotes of spending up to 4 hours crossing the border. So worst case scenario of 4 hours each way, I'll still have time. But not a minute extra! There are also two later flights than mine back to Dubai that would still get me there in time for my flight to the US.

I do realize that this is absolute worst case scenario, so I'm not expecting to spend all day at the border crossings. I plan to spend any extra time in Bahrain rather than Saudi Arabia. For one thing, I want to get the border crossings behind me to minimize problems getting back to the airport in time for my flight. Plus, I have already been in Saudi Arabia, but this will be my first time visiting Bahrain.

Nayef

g289t

Yes thank you! I have already found this site. I have checked it at the times I expect to be passing through. It looks like it shouldn't be too bad.

Nayef

A reporter based in Riyadh just told me they think electronic tourist visas should begin to be issued in October. Let's see if that comes to pass.

Nayef

Update: some Saudi officials have said the plans haven't been finalized yet, but I'm keeping the info below just in case because the Saudis have a habit of denying something that's been leaked right before making an official announcement (and I spent way too much time writing this only for it to go to waste). I'll keep updating the matter as news comes in. The initial newspaper article from Okaz stating this info has been deleted, which means it's either true and the government is trying to cap media articles until it's formally announced, or it might not be true. We just have to wait and see. There's still time to "finalize" things by Sep. 27.

A lot of rumors on the internet today regarding Saudi tourist visas that haven't been officially verified yet, but Arabian Business and Bloomberg published articles on them today:

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/trav...n-september-27
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...eeks-okaz-says

If it's true and electronic visa issuance/visa on arrival begins on Sep. 27, then it'll have a total cost of US$117 (SAR440), which include a fee for health insurance, and it enables a visitor to enter Saudi for 90 days for each visit (a max of 180 days in a year) and it would be for multiple entries. According to screenshots that have been leaked on Twitter, an issued visa would expire 1 year after issuance. Bloomberg says the visas could be obtained online or on arrival, and the screenshots I mentioned say that citizens of countries that have bilateral agreements with Saudi could also get the visa through an embassy or consulate. They also claim that it'll take 5-30 minutes for an electronic visa to be issued in most cases. And they explicitly state that a return ticket and a hotel reservation wouldn't be required, but that an address would be required during the process. A note further says, "Before issuing a boarding pass to Saudi Arabia, the airline must check if the passenger has a visa or if they're eligible for visa on arrival."

The following airports and land crossings have been posted as the ones where tourists would be allowed entry:

1. Riyadh - King Khalid (RUH)
2. Jeddah - King Abdulaziz (JED)
3. Dammam - King Fahd (DMM)
4. Medina - Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz (MED)
5. King Fahd Causeway (the land border with Bahrain)
6. Al-Batha (pronounced butt-hā) border crossing with the UAE

The 51 countries mentioned are the following:

Europe:
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom

Asia:
Brunei
China
Hong Kong
Japan
Kazakhstan
Macau
Malaysia
Singapore
South Korea

Americas:
Canada
United States

Oceania:
Australia
New Zealand

A note on the countries says, "It is expected that the rest of [the world's] countries will be included at the beginning of 2020."

TomMM

Think that will be reality?

I am currently waiting 2 months for my online Pakistan visa to be processed. A process which is advertised as taking only 7-10 days.

Nayef

I don't see why not. They've been issuing electronic visas since December for events, so you'd buy an event ticket and pay for the e-visa and you get an email, which is your visa. And Riyadh Season is going to start in October, so they have more of a vested interested in having this start late September (if it does end up happening). I don't know how the Pakistani e-visa process works, but the Saudis are desperate to get tourists to come in and so they don't want a lot of problems or delays. And Saudi's internet and bureaucratic infrastructures are at least a bit better than Pakistan's, I'd wager.

mecabq

This would be great news if it comes to pass. I am not holding my breath as I have many times over the years.

It took me more than two months. I requested ten-year multiple entry (one of the options on the form) and they gave me a single-entry valid for three months (15 days' stay). It wasn't my first visa, but was my first on the new electronic system, so maybe the second time they will be more generous.

ps107

Incidentally, I have heard some anecdotes that getting a business visa became more difficult in the last week or so. Anyone know more about that?

gnargel

Hi!

Assuming that Saudi starts issuing tourist visa's on September 27 as reported, I am hoping to visit Saudi Arabia this October. One of the main reasons I want to visit, is Madain Saleh. I read that it is supposed to be closed till 2020, but that it may still be possible to visit on certain days. Struggling to find more information this, or even someone in Saudi Arabia that I can contact. Does anyone have more information on this?

Thank you,
gnargel

Nayef

What I know is they made them difficult starting the last two years or so. I can't recall exactly, but there's a particularly onerous requirement that they added that you really have to be well-connected to fulfill.