Personal visit visa to Saudi Arabia for French citizens

Question

I am an Egyptian-French dual national. I am asking about the personal visit visa to Saudi Arabia for French citizens.

I have a non-Saudi friend living legally in Jeddah. He will send me an invitation to visit him. Does the invitation must be from a Saudi citizen? (invitation by an individual not a company) Or can it be from a non-Saudi citizen living AND working legally in Saudi Arabia and has an IQAMA (residence certificate for non-Saudi citizens)? The friend who will send the invitation to me is Egyptian.

I read that French citizens will get a 4-year visa as shown in this link.

Saudi Arabia has now granted French nationals visas valid for four years with multiple entries. Below is an authorised press release from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Paris. Translation: Taking into consideration the excellent relation

Is this 4-year visa applicable in personal visit visa cases? What are the papers required and how much does the visa cost for French citizens?

Answer 1

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not currently issue tourist visas for residents of any countries, including France. They have announced that they intend to change this policy next year (2018). However at this stage no further details on that have been released.

The press release you have referred to almost certainly applies to those obtaining business visas, which are available to verified business travelers. However these are generally very expensive and require a significant amount of paperwork to obtain.

Specifically for visiting the Jeddah area there is also a Hajj visa available. However the rules around these are strict - they are only issued to bona fide hajj pilgrims, and you are not allowed to stay in the country beyond the end of your Hajj Pilgrimage. So even if you are a Muslim, it will most likely not be suitable for what you are after.