Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UK agrees instant two-year visas for Saudi nationals

By Andrew Hammond
A passenger at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5. The two-year visas for Saudi nationals will only cost £10 Reuters/Hannah McKay
A passenger at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5. The two-year visas for Saudi nationals will only cost £10
  • Multiple entry for any purpose
  • 11,850 Saudis studying in UK
  • UK fintech business visit

Saudi Arabian nationals can obtain instant two-year multiple entry visas to the UK for business, tourism and study visits following a deal made during a British business delegation trip to the kingdom this week. 

“The new visa offers a validity period of up to two years and multiple entries during the validity period, in addition to costing nominal fees of 10 pounds sterling,” the official Saudi Press Agency said on January 31. 

“It can also be used for the purposes of tourism, business, short study or medical treatment,” it said, adding that the visa would be considered an electronic travel authorisation. 

The e-visa waiver scheme for Saudi citizens first started in June 2022. The new system goes into effect on February 22 but applications have already opened. 

British nationals can also obtain six-month single entry visas for tourism, business, study or medical treatment, part of the e-visa reforms first introduced by the kingdom in 2019. 

According to the British Council, there are 11,850 Saudis studying in Britain, the largest number from the region. 

Britain is trying to raise international student numbers to make up for loss of revenue from a fall in European Union students after Britain left the EU, and maintain its status globally as the number two destination after the United States.  

Minister of state at the British foreign ministry, Tariq Ahmad, made the agreement in a meeting at the Saudi foreign ministry, which occurred during a visit of around 30 fintech companies and investors hoping to benefit from reforms in the Saudi financial services sector. 

Saudi Arabia has become the region’s leading destination for venture capital, growing 33 percent during 2023 to reach $1.4 billion. The government is aiming to have 525 fintech companies by 2030, contributing SAR13.3 billion ($3.5 billion) to GDP. 

The Saudi British Joint Business Council says Britain has around 2,500 fintech companies and a market that saw 409 deals worth a total $5.1 billion in 2023, making the UK the second largest global fintech hub after the US and the leading European market.

“This is the second fintech mission that the Saudi British Joint Business Council has led to the kingdom … and it follows the move towards more open banking in Saudi Arabia as well as the rapid growth of the Saudi fintech ecosystem,” it said in a statement.

Latest articles

SJP's chief investment officer Justin Onuekwusi, second from right, at the event in Dubai. Other speakers included, from left, Ben Powell of the BlackRock Investment Institute, Angelina Lai of SJP Asia and Middle East, and Robert Willock of the Economist Intelligence Unit

Wealth manager seeks Gulf growth despite setbacks in UK

St James’s Place, the UK’s largest wealth manager, plans to target local customers to expand its one-year-old Gulf operation as it seeks to brush off reputational setbacks in its home market. In February SJP disclosed that it had set aside more than $500 million for potential client refunds after an increase in complaints about its […]

A FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max. The airline's CEO says Boeing is 'fantastic' but he has sent inspectors to the manufacturer's facilities

Boeing’s ‘negative issues’ are top concern for FlyDubai CEO

Escalating regional tensions and recent floods in Dubai have “not especially” affected FlyDubai’s operations, but the low-cost airline’s chief executive said he was closely monitoring US plane maker Boeing’s response to a string of safety scandals.  “We are definitely very concerned about the delays and all the negative issues that are in the pipeline or […]

A KFC outlet in a Dubai mall. It accounts for about two-thirds of Americana's sales, but has been hit by boycotts

Americana profit tumbles as Gaza boycotts hit sales

Americana Restaurants International’s revenue and profit fell again in the first quarter of this year as Mena diners continue to shun western brands in protest at the conflict in Gaza. Americana, which runs 2,456 fast-food outlets across the region, reported a 16.3 percent reduction in revenues year on year, to $493.5 million.  Net profit fell […]

Lucid cut the price of its flagship Air model in February by as much as 10 percent

Lucid cuts electric car prices but posts higher revenue

Saudi-backed US electric vehicle maker Lucid reported first-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates this week as it sets to produce more cars this year but selling at cheaper prices to spur sales.  The Nasdaq-listed EV company had cut prices of its flagship Air sedans in February by up to 10 percent, as customers globally began to […]