Saudi mulls imposing 3 year travel ban on citizens visiting Red listed countries

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is reported to have been considering imposing a three-year ban on citizens travelling to countries that the Kingdom deemed highly sensitive to coronavirus and made it in the 'Red List' to protect the countries from the spread of the virus and its variants, according to Saudi's state news agency SPA.

The report quoted an interior ministry official as said that citizens who have been found floating the rules will be imposed with heavy penalties upon their return and they will be banned from travelling for three years.3-year

Recently, the Kingdom has introduced several measures, including travel abroad banning as an effort to prevent the spread of COVID.

In the wake of the uncontrolled increase of COVID cases in Indonesia, the Ministry of Interior also issued a travel advisory banning its citizens to travel to Indonesia.

An official source at the Ministry of Interior said in a statement today that "Emanating from the Saudi government's keenness on the safety of citizens wishing to travel abroad, and in light of the continuing outbreak of the Corona pandemic (COVID-19), the spread of a new mutated strain of the virus, and the health situation in the Republic of Indonesia, it has been decided to ban citizens from travelling directly or indirectly to Indonesia until the epidemiological situation in Indonesia is stabilized."

The Ministry of Interior calls upon the citizens present in the Republic of Indonesia to exercise caution, stay away from areas witnessing the spread of the virus, follow all precautionary measures, and return sooner to the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will allow people who have received the second dose of the COVID vaccine to travel to countries that are not named in the Red List from August 9 August 2021.

An official source at the Ministry of Interior announced today that receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is a condition for Saudi citizens to travel abroad. The decision will come into force from 9 August 2021.

The source stated that this decision is based on preventive and precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry of Health and within the sustained efforts to control the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The ministry's statement excluded the following categories from the decision:

First: Children under the age of 12, who will be required to obtain a valid health insurance policy, approved by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), to cover the risks of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Second: Individuals who recovered from the coronavirus, provided that they have spent less than six months from being infected with the virus.