Saudi bans citizens from travel to Ethiopia, UAE, Vietnam without prior permission

Saudi Arabia has announced it will be barring its citizens from direct or indirect travel to the UAE ,Ethiopia, and Vietnam without obtaining prior permission, according to a statement from the Kingdom’s interior ministry.

An official source in the Ministry of Interior said tha the government took the decision out of its concern regarding the safety of citizens wishing to travel abroad in light of the continuing outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the spread of a new mutated strain of COVID-19.

Authorities announced early on Saturday that it will continue to prevent direct or indirect travel of Saudi citizens to the previously declared countries and suspend entry from Ethiopia, the UAE and Vietnam, in addition to Afghanistan except for those who stayed 14 days outside those four countries and who are not citizens.

Suspension of flights from the three countries will take effect from 11 pm on Sunday July 4, 2021.

The interior ministry also said it will be stopping flights between countries where travel is prohibited and applying quarantine measures to all citizens and non-citizens coming from those countries.

Exceptions are made to citizens who are currently in any of those countries and who return before 11 pm on Sunday, July 4, the interior ministry clarified.

“The Ministry of Interior calls upon citizens wishing to travel to the countries to which travel is permitted to be careful, stay away from areas where the virus is spreading, and follow all precautionary measures, regardless of their destination,” the Saudi Press Agency reported citing the Kingdom’s interior ministry.

Published: 03 July ,2021: 02:34 AM GST