Ease of getting a Saudi transit visa
 

I just read this section:

http://www.saudiembassy.net/Travel/VisaReq-Transit.asp

looks like transit visas are easy and free, but in reality are they really so? Any success stories here? I do have a relative who is willing to get his company to sponsor me but noticed it costs $100 for a bus visa.

Also I might not be able to produce all the flights that is the flight in and out on one ticket, I plan on buying one ticket into DMM and another separate one out. Would this raise some eyebrows? If I don't get the visa will RJ and QR interline my bags all the way through?

Why do you need a sponsor for a TRANSIT visa?

As for interlining - if you can't get a visa then you aren't flying, so interlining isn't moot

Moving this thread to the Middle East forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

I am thinking of a plan change. I am planning on flying KWI-DMM and then BAH to KWI, would this itin work? Of course when applying got a visa I shall ensure I buy a fully refundable ticket transiting DMM. When I get to the airport if they question me saying that my itin looks like a round trip then if I say that I was planning to go to BAH actually but couldn't get award seats so thought of flying in DMM and taking the bus to BAH, would it work?

bump.

I know two people who've tried to get a Saudi transit visa.

One, like you, tried to get a Saudi transit visa to book a flight connection through Riyadh. No dice -- application rejected.

Another wanted to drive his car from Dubai to his home in Jordan; as a quick consultation of the map will show, the only way to do this is to drive through Saudi Arabia. He got it.

Wow, does this thread bring back some memories for me... :D

Some years ago, I had the romantic notion of traveling from Cairo to San'a, Yemen over land via Saudi. The flight was over $600 r/t, while the bus was something like $50. Plus, I'd get to see Saudi, right? And I had plenty of time.

I took a look at UA Fan's Saudi link... They're not very clear, but the operative statement is this: "Transit visas do not grant the right to residence, visitation or employment." As I understand it, this means you literally cannot leave the airport, but are allowed to use certain other lounge and/or lodging facilities designed for transit passengers. Thrilling, no? Moreover, at least when I was applying for a TV, you had to prove that your itinerary forced an extended stay/overnight in the KSA. Buying a strange itinerary wouldn't cut it -- the Saudis would simply say that other routings were available that would obviate the need to transit the Kingdom. Not only that, but you couldn't even apply for the TV until you had a purchased ticket in hand.

When I tried to do this in Cairo, there was a flourishing industry of travel agents who would issue "authentic" travel documents for a 10% fee. If the KSA consulate didn't give you a TV, then you were only out 10% of the cost. If you got one, then you went back to the travel agency, which then issued the real tickets and charge you 100% of the cost. :eek:

So is there no such thing as a tourist visa? I need to go there for one night to visit a hotel sales manager. What would the process be for doing that? Business visa? with strong likelihood of being rejected?

Presumably the hotel could sponsor you for a business visa. They would need to present an invitation letter to the foreign ministry, etc. I am just speculating, but, if it's a major/five-star hotel I would imagine that its links with a local sponsor should help, and you might have a pretty good chance.

Also, thanks as219 for the information. I have always wondered why I couldn't buy an itinerary with a 36-hour stopover in Saudi (maybe even all on SV to make them happy), get a transit visa, and have a fun-filled weekend getaway in the Kingdom. But your explanation makes a lot of sense! But you didn't tell us the outcome of your envisioned Cairo-Sanaa trip -- I gather from your message that it never happened. . .

Oh no, the trip did happen... I ponied up for the plane :td: and spent a month tooling around Yemen ^ The best trip of my life. Absolutely loved it.

You can do this, actually, but it takes some serious homework. They will grant you the transit visa if you meet the following conditions: (a) your flights through the Kingdom require an overnight and/or a layover of over X hours (I forget how many) and (b) there was no faster way to get there, either on SV or another carrier. What this means is you can't just book a flight, say, from JFK-RUH-PEW, where you arrive in RUH after the one flight of the day has left for PEW, then ask for the visa. Consular officials would ask why you didn't fly carrier such and such to avoid the Kingdom altogether. You'd have to make the case that SV was the only carrier that worked for whatever reason...and there aren't many such reasons that are remotely plausible.

Has anyone gone to the embassy in DC to apply for the visa? It says nothing about visas taking more than one day to issue...so Im hoping I can apply and receive it in the same day. Any past feedback would be appreciated!

What type of a visa? There are tourist visas but you MUST have a sponsor. The sponsor send the stuff to the embassy and the embasy will put the visa in your passport.

Business...I have all the appropriate documentation from my sponsor, but Im just worried about the embassy being stingy with their visas.

You never know with the Saudis, but I have been pretty successful (myself and my colleagues, that is) getting business visas, assuming that your sponsor has a proper commercial registration and otherwise provides everything correctly. Also it takes a lot of time -- I believe that your sponsor has to submit the paperwork to the foreign ministry in Riyadh, where it is processed with unpredictable results.