Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada
VFS TasHeel, an authorised visa service provider for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has launched tourist visa services at its centres across 30 countries worldwide and it started serving customers under the new type of Tourist Visa in most of its countries of operations on the 14th November 2019.
According to Saudi Arabia’s new visa policy, nationals of UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Maldives, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan can apply for a tourist visa. The visa process is open to applicants from all nationalities, except the forty-nine that are eligible for a visa on arrival or e-visa.
According to the spokesperson of VFS TasHeel, he assured tourists that the travelling process will be made convenient for all “The increasing openness of international markets brings immense opportunities to the tourism sector and Saudi Arabia’s new policies acknowledge that tourism has an important role to play in the kingdom’s social and economic development. In support of the government’s initiatives, we are pleased to offer tourist visa services in 30 countries, and make the entire process more seamless and convenient for potential leisure travellers and pilgrims for Umrah.” he said
He noted further that applicants will also be able to travel for Umrah on a tourist visa, but not during the hajj season and also all VFS centres will provide convenient visa and biometric enrollment services for Saudi tourist visa applicants.
Acting as a trusted service provider between visa applicants and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, VFS TasHeel’s visa services centres, spanning Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, provide full array of visa services including, dissemination of accurate visa information, application guidance, fee management, identity management with biometrics enrollment and application submission for all available visa categories. Biometric enrollment includes highly secure collection of fingerprints, facial image and biographic details, such as passport information.
For further information on steps to apply, knowing appropriate visa category or scheduling an appointment, applicants may visit www.vfstasheel.com.
