The Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have launched the second phase of the service for issuing “Visiting Investor” business visit visa online to cover the rest of the world.
The provision of this specialized service to foreign investors is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to fulfill the aspirations of the investment sectors in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to attract a wider range of investors from around the world, improve the investment environment, and facilitate business start-ups, with a focus on attracting major high-quality investments given their effective role in driving economic growth.
Facilitating Access for Foreign Investors
The Deputy Minister of Investment for Integrated Investor Services, Mohammed Aba Hussein, explained that the business visit visa “Visiting Investor” visa is designed to provide foreign investors and employees of foreign entities with the opportunity to apply for an electronic visit visa through the platform operated by the Ministry of Investment’s “Invest in Saudi Arabia,” through which the application is processed and the visa is issued digitally via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs“ Unified National Visa Platform, without the need to visit the Kingdom’s diplomatic missions abroad to provide biometric data. The visa is valid for up to one year and allows for multiple entries; furthermore, a number of applicants can obtain the visa immediately for the purpose of visiting the Kingdom and exploring investment opportunities.
He noted that this specialized service is the result of concerted efforts and joint cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed at providing appropriate, value-added services to investors.
A Package of Development Projects
For his part, Ambassador Ali bin Abdulrahman Al-Yousef, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Consular Affairs, explained that the Ministry’s launch of this service is part of a package of development projects for consular services, aimed at achieving the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, including increasing the number of visitors by issuing visit visas for all purposes electronically (e-visa) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” online visa platform, such as the ”business visit“ visa granted to investors and businesspeople from all countries around the world.”
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Investment, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has expanded the category of beneficiaries eligible for the instant e-visa to include the following: countries listed on the Ministry of Investment’s “Invest in Saudi Arabia” platform, holders of a “valid” tourist or business visa from the United States, the United Kingdom, or a Schengen Agreement country, which has been used at least once to enter the countries eligible for the visa, holders of permanent residency in the United States, the United Kingdom, or European Union countries; holders of a “valid” residence permit for a period of at least three months in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; and entities licensed by the Ministry of Investment to issue up to three instant visas per year per facility.
