Reports of Saudi Arabia withdrawing new visa fee not true - Wisma Putra

Recent local and international media reports of Saudi Arabia withdrawing the new visa fee implemented on Oct 2 is not true, said the Foreign Ministry.

It said the Malaysian Embassy in Riyadh had checked with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry and, as of Dec 6, no royal decree had been issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, on the matter.

The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur also confirmed that there was no instruction on the visa fee from the Saudi Arabian Government, it said.

"Therefore, the media and the public are urged not to easily believe unverified information to avoid any confusion," it said in a statement here today.

The ministry said any change would only be announced by the Saudi Arabian Government through its embassies and official media.

The new visa fee announced by Saudi Arabia is applicable to all countries.

The new fee structure includes a single-entry visa that will cost travellers 2,000 Saudi Riyal (about RM2,400), and is applicable to all visitors except for first-time Haj and umrah pilgrims. - BERNAMA