All those travelling to Saudi Arabia, both nationals and foreigners, who have had two doses of a vaccine approved in the kingdom will be able to enter with no period of quarantine from Monday as long as they meet the criteria, authorities said hours before borders reopened after 14 months.
The Saudi National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention clarified the measures as the kingdom reopened its borders on Monday, more than a year after closing down travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Saudia Airlines said that residents and nationals must ensure their vaccine status is updated in the government’s Tawakkalna application. They said all other travellers to the kingdom must "obtain and show proof" of two doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca or Moderna, or one from Johnson & Johnson.
Non-nationals must carry the proof of vaccination with them at all times while in the kingdom.
People travelling to the kingdom after only one shot or just a negative PCR test must complete seven days of quarantine at their own expense.
“Institutional quarantine will be applied for non-citizens arriving in the kingdom who are yet to take two doses of the vaccines approved by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the disease control centre said.
“The quarantine will not be applied to the immune residents and visitors coming to the kingdom from abroad who have spent 14 days since completing their doses of the vaccines accredited by the kingdom [provided they show a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours]”.
The Interior Ministry said GCC nationals need to travel on their passports as using national ID cards is still suspended.
All non-nationals, residents or GCC nationals who travel to the kingdom must have health insurance to cover the cost of Covid-19 treatment in case of infection while in Saudi Arabia.
The quarantine-free travel does not apply to arrivals from countries where high-risk variants have been detected.
Entry is still banned for non-nationals travelling from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the US, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Brazil, Portugal, the UK, Turkey, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Lebanon, Egypt, India and Japan.
Those in the kingdom can now travel abroad, provided they have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, or one dose more than 14 days before travelling, according to guidelines posted by Saudia Airline.
Citizens who have recovered from coronavirus within the last six months and those under 18 can also leave the country as long as they have central bank-accredited health insurance to cover treatment for Covid-19.
The Interior Ministry on Sunday reinstated a ban on nationals travelling directly or indirectly to 13 countries without specific permission.
Travel to Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela and Yemen are all banned.
They are no-go zones because of instability or surges in coronavirus cases.
A Civil Aviation spokesman said on Sunday that 385 international flights would depart from nine Saudi airports on May 17.
Both Saudia Airlines and the aviation authority have stated that social distancing, wearing a mask and regular hand sanitising is needed in terminals and on flights. All aircraft are deep cleaned, the airline said.
Saudia Airline said “no empty seats will be left among passengers on international flights”.
Saudi Arabia has administered more than 11.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health reported on Sunday, adding that 2,406 doses of the vaccine were given in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said penalties would apply to all those who breach health and safety protocols.
“The penalty for non-Saudis who violate isolation procedures is deportation from the kingdom and prevention of entry to it in the future,” the ministry said.
"Whoever violates the isolation procedures will be punished with a fine of up to 200,000 riyals [$53,325] or imprisonment for a period of up to two years, or both.”
Saudi Arabia confirmed 15 Covid-19 deaths and 825 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday.
The total number of recoveries in the kingdom has reached 417,787 and 7,162 deaths have been reported so far.
More on coronavirus travel
Greece opens to travel-starved tourists
Portugal to allow EU and UK tourists with a negative coronavirus test
British Airways trials app to end queues at check-in counters
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The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
RACE CARD
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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