AMN / WEB DESK
The Vaccinated Saudis can now go out of kingdom for the first time in more than a year as the country eased the ban on international travel.
For the past 14 months, citizens have mostly been banned from traveling abroad out of concerns that international travel could fuel the outbreak of the virus within the country of more than 30 million people. The ban, in place since March 2020, has also impacted Saudi students who were studying abroad.
In recent months, however, the kingdom has vaccinated close to 11.5 million residents with at least one jab of the COVID-19 vaccine, making them eligible to depart the country under the new guidelines. Authorities will also allow people who have recently recovered from the virus and minors under 18 years of age with travel insurance to travel abroad.
A recent list of countries for which direct or indirect travel remains restricted, however, includes a number of high-risk nations, including Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Turkey and India.
With limited exception, foreigners from 20 countries, including the U.S., U.K., U.A.E. and France, remain banned from directly entering the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 4,30,000 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic, including more than 7,160 deaths.