Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Tuesday lifted the travel ban from United Arab Emirates and two other countries, starting from September 8, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The other two countries are: Argentina and South Africa.
An official source at the ministry of interior said that it had decided to lift the suspension of entry to the Kingdom from these countries through the land, sea and air ports, and that Saudi citizens will also be allowed to travel to these countries.
The ministry said the decision was based on the kingdom’s evaluation of the current COVID-19 situation.
The ministry stressed the importance of adhering to all the precautionary and preventive measures adopted to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“All procedures and measures are subject to continuous evaluation by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom in accordance with the developments in the epidemiological situation across the world,” the state agency quoted ministry statement.
On July 3, Saudi Arabia had suspended the entry for citizens of the UAE and three other countries, due to concerns related to the COVID-19 and the spread of a new mutated strain of the virus.
Saudi citizens were allowed to visit these countries only after getting a permit from the Kingdom’s authorities.
Now the countries facing travel ban has came down to ten and they are India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Lebanon.
On August 24, Saudi Arabia allowed direct entry of fully vaccinated expatriates from countries facing travel ban.
This decision is applicable only to those foreigners who have a valid residency permit and left the Kingdom on exit and reentry visa after taking two doses of vaccine against COVID-19 from Saudi Arabia.