Saudi Arabia introduces new process to grant business visa within 24 hours

Saudi Arabia has introduced new measures to grant business visa for foreign investors within 24 hours.

An official with Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry confirmed to Arab News that the new mechanism for businesspeople and business delegations came into effect from January 1.

The new rule will allow allowing foreign investors to obtain business visas electronically within a day.

The official said the kingdom is also introducing a new process for visit visas for commercial firms working in Saudi Arabia, which he said will be applied within the next few days.

It’s a measure that was introduced in accordance with directives issued by Saudi Arabia’s Council of Economic and Development Affairs, which has been working on ways to improve the investment environment and generate more business activity in the private sector.

Arab News also reports that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has been in contact with businesspeople who have previously been issued with visas to discuss possible investment in Saudi Arabia. SAGIA is also looking to improve reduce its process of requests from foreign business delegations to two days, instead of the current 30-day wait period.