Travelers entering Saudi Arabia must now have medical insurance to cover COVID-19 treatment if they test positive and need to be hospitalized. Individuals who test positive for COVID but do not need to be hospitalized will be quarantined for 10-14 days during their recovery.
The Saudi government, in its new set of regulations, has advised all airlines to emphasize the importance of institutional quarantine and medical insurance for visitors to Saudi Arabia on their websites.
Saudi to Require Travelers to Present Insurance for COVID-19 before Entering
While domestic workers accompanying diplomats and their families in Saudi Arabia will not be subjected to institutional quarantine, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has stated that diplomatic visa holders, as well as their families and domestic workers, must adhere to home quarantine procedures in accordance with Ministry of Health regulations, the Gulf News reported.
Disobeying these restrictions will result in a 200,000 SAR fine, a two-year prison sentence, or both. Non-Saudi violators will be imprisoned and deported, with an indefinite entrance restriction, according to updated GACA instructions.
Meanwhile, visitors visiting Saudi Arabia, with the exception of residents and GCC citizens, must have medical insurance to receive COVID-19 treatment in outpatient clinics and hospitals, including institutional quarantine for up to 14 days. Passengers who do not meet these conditions will be returned at the expense of the airline.
Saudi Arabia encourages arriving travelers to show confirmation of immunization with one of the following vaccines: two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca, two doses of Moderna, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson.
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