Saudi Visa Overstay Fines: What You Need to Know

Introduction

If you’re looking for a spectacular place to visit on your next holiday, you may want to head for Saudi Arabia, with its rich cultural heritage and natural wonders. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is opening its gates further for the world as it makes even more individuals eligible to travel to its shores. But just like any country, visitors must abide by certain rules, especially when it comes to their length of stay. How long can travelers stay in Saudi Arabia on a visit visa? What happens if their visa expires while they’re still in the country? In this article, we cover what happens if you overstay in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Saudi visa overstay fines you may need to pay.

Obtaining a Saudi visa

Before we dive into the specifics of Saudi visa overstay fines, let’s cover the basics of visiting the country.

Do you need a visa to go to Saudi Arabia? Yes, you do. People of all nationalities, except those who are citizens of Saudi Arabia’s fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, are required to obtain a visa to enter Saudi Arabia. The GCC countries include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.

The Saudi E-Visa

The simplest visa you can apply for is the Saudi e-visa, which covers different travel purposes such as tourism, visiting family and friends, taking part in business engagements, seeking medical treatment, to performing Umrah. The Saudi e-visa is an electronic visa that Saudi Arabia introduced in 2019 to make the process of applying for a Saudi visa easier.

Gone are the days when the only way you could apply for a visa was to make a personal appearance at a Saudi embassy or consulate and manually submit your supporting documents.

Under the new e-visa system, travelers arriving in Saudi Arabia don’t need a visa sticker stamped on their passports. Instead, these are replaced by a printed e-visa featuring a QR code. This QR code will contain all the essential data and information about the passenger, effectively functioning as a digital visa.

Eligibility

As mentioned, Saudi Arabia has made it easier for more people to apply for a Saudi visa, through the e-visa. The following individuals can apply for an e-visa:

1. Citizens of the following countries:

North America: Canada, Panama, USA, Saint Kitts, and Nevis

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

Asia: Brunei, China (Including Hong Kong And Macau), Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Tajikistan, Turkey, Thailand, Uzbekistan

Africa: South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

2. Permanent residents in the USA, EU, or the UK

3. Holders of visit visas (Schengen, US, UK)

4. Residents in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates)

Note that dual citizenships from the mentioned countries also make you eligible for a Saudi e-visa or visa on arrival.

Validity

Generally, Saudi visit visas are valid for either 90 days (single entry) or 365 days (multiple entry) for a total stay duration of 90 days.

Application

For the e-visa, you can apply for it in the comfort of your home. Simply log on to KSA Visa, Saudi Arabia’s new unified platform for visa applications.

The website uses a smart search engine to help users identify available visas, along with a centralized system that details visa requirements and application procedures. Users can set up a personal profile to simplify future applications. The platform uses AI (artificial intelligence) and other new technologies to help ensure accurate verification of data and overall efficiency.

To apply for a Saudi e-visa, create an account on KSA Visa, select your preferred visa, and fill out the online visa application form, selecting an insurance provider, before paying the visa fee and waiting for your e-visa. It’s that easy.

Requirements

Typically, you’ll need to have the following for a Saudi visit e-visa:

• Passport with at least 6 months validity
• Digital passport photo with a white background (in JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, or BMP file formats; not bigger than 100 KB; and 200×200 pixels in dimension)
• Accomplished application form
• Health insurance

Processing time

You’ll know that your Saudi e-visa has been processed once you receive an e-mail from KSA Visa. Assuming there were no issues with your visa application information, it commonly takes anywhere between 30 minutes to a maximum of 48 hours for a Saudi tourist e-visa, for example, to be issued.

Overstaying in Saudi Arabia

What happens if you extend your stay in Saudi Arabia beyond the validity of your visa?

In October 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah warned pilgrims to depart the kingdom on time, before their visa expires, as overstaying is a form of violation of Saudi laws. If they wish to stay longer in the country, they may apply to extend their Umrah visa duration from 30 to 90 days, allowing them to freely travel across Saudi Arabia.

If you are a Saudi tourist visa holder, you’ll need to pay at the airport Saudi visa overstay fines that cost up to SAR 100 ($26.66) for every day that you extend your stay.

Note that the Saudi embassy in the U.S. may issue some tourist visas that are valid for five years with a total allowed stay duration of 180 days per year.

Visit visas, meanwhile, are another matter. Those who overstay on a visit visa such as a family visit visa or a personal visit visa, as well as the expatriate or the Saudi national who issued the visa, face penalties such as fines and imprisonment.

According to Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports (GDP), first-time violators need to pay a fine of SAR 15,000 ($3,999), while second-time violators face a fine of SAR 25,000 ($6,665). Third-time violators, meanwhile, will need to pay $50,000 ($13,330) in Saudi visa overstay fines and face jail time of up to six months.

Extending your Saudi visa

There are many reasons why a traveler may extend his or her stay in Saudi Arabia. It could be a result of an emergency or any other unfortunate incident.

If you are a tourist visa holder, unfortunately, extending your tourist visa is impossible. You will need to leave Saudi Arabia within your visa’s validity and if you wish to visit the kingdom once more, you must apply for a new Saudi visa.

Those under a single-entry visit visa, meanwhile, are eligible for a visa extension through their host or sponsor. Their sponsor must apply for the visa extension via his account on Absher, the electronic platform of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior.

The visa can be extended six days before the visitor visa expires up to three days after it expires, after which visa extension is no longer possible. The visa extension period must not be more than 180 days.

To be eligible for the visa extension, the visitor must meet the following conditions:

The visa must not be valid for a maximum of seven days

• His/her passport must be valid
• The visitor must be in Saudi Arabia
• The visitor must not have any traffic violations
• The visitor must have valid medical insurance
• The visa extension fees must be fully paid

The visa extension fee costs SAR 100 ($26.66) for any Saudi visit visa. If the visa of the visitor has expired for three days already, he/she must pay an additional SAR 500 ($133) in fines.

The visa extension may take anywhere between a few minutes to a few days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Although we’ve covered the basics of Saudi visa overstay fines and penalties in Saudi Arabia, we’re sure you may still have other questions about it as well as the process of requesting for a visa extension. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions.

How can I extend a visit visa via the Absher platform?

If you intend to extend a visit visa using the Absher platform, log in to your account, select “For Family Members” or “For domestic workers” (whichever is applicable), and click “Extension of visit visa.” Provide the mandatory information and upload the necessary attachments before paying the fees and submitting your visa extension application.

I have a worker outside Saudi Arabia whose exit/re-entry visa expired three months ago. Will he/she be dropped from my name?

Once the visa has expired for six months and the domestic worker has left and not returned, he/she will automatically be dropped from your name. You may also submit a request through the Tawasul service once your visa has expired for 30 days.

How long does a Saudi visa take to expire?

The expiration of your Saudi visa will depend on its validity. Generally, Saudi visit visas are valid for a total stay duration of 90 days, either under a single-entry visa (valid for 90 days) or a multiple-entry visa (valid for 365 days).

Can you extend a Saudi tourist visa?

No, you may not extend a Saudi tourist visa. You must leave Saudi Arabia before your tourist visa expires, otherwise, you face Saudi visa overstay fines of SAR 100 ($26.66) per day of extension. This also applies to Saudi visit visas.

Can the Saudi Umrah visa be extended?

No, Saudi Umrah visas may not be extended. Pilgrims must depart Saudi Arabia before their visa expires. To avoid overstaying, make sure to check your visa information and validity.

Can I apply for a Saudi visa as an unaccompanied woman?

Yes, you may apply for a Saudi visa without a travel companion. Women entering Saudi Arabia are not required to wear a hijab or abaya. Note, however, that you must dress modestly while in the kingdom.

Conclusion

Tourists may want to set their eyes on Saudi Arabia as their next destination, as the country opens its gates further to the world and makes itself more accessible to more nationalities.

Interested and eligible travelers may easily and conveniently apply for a Saudi e-visa through KSA Visa, Saudi Arabia’s unified platform for visa applications.

Should visit visa holders and tourist visa holders extend their stay in Saudi Arabia beyond the validity of their visa, they face Saudi visa overstay fines. Repeat offenders face other penalties such as imprisonment on top of fines.

Tourist visas may not be extended, while hosts or sponsors of visit visa holders may apply for a visa extension via the Absher platform.

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