Are you planning to visit Saudi Arabia? Gaining permission to enter a country requires following some minimum guidelines to follow. These guidelines ensure compliance and maintain safety within the borders. You must be curious about what the health restrictions to potentially bar your entry to the country are. If you follow this guide, you’ll get an idea of what you’d need to do.
To Enter Saudi Arabia in 2025, You Must Meet These Health Requirements
Here is a list of health requirements to meet when visiting Saudi Arabia in 2025:
- While Saudi Arabia has lifted all COVID restrictions for travel to the country in 2025, you might need to show vaccination proof specifically for Hajj or Umrah trips.
- Also, for the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage, you’ll need the Meningitis vaccination proof.
- If you are traveling from a country that has been affected by yellow fever, you’ll need proof of that vaccination as well.
- A polio vaccination certificate might also be required if you are visiting for long-term (4 weeks or more).
- Finally, for all visa categories to Saudi Arabia, a valid health plan will be required.
Now, to look into the detailed steps to ensure that you keep up with all the rules for vaccination and medical for a Saudi Arabia visa.
Step 1: Understand the Basic Vaccination Rules
The entry requirements to Saudi Arabia are usually lenient. However, all types of travelers to Saudi Arabia require some form of vaccination certificate to be allowed entry into the country.
This is important, as per the Saudi government, to ensure that public health and safety are maintained. Furthermore, this step also prevents major infectious diseases from being spread.
Here is a list of visa types and corresponding vaccination requirements for traveling to Saudi Arabia:
| Visa Type | Required Vaccine Certificate |
| Tourist | Polio, Yellow Fever (optional) |
| Hajj/Umrah | COVID-19, Meningitis, Polio |
| Work | Meningitis, Polio |
| Student | Meningitis, Polio, COVID-19 |
Table 1: Saudi Arabia Visa Types and Vaccines Required
Step 2: COVID-19 Vaccination Proof
Traveling to Saudi Arabia has become a lot more lenient in 2025, as the COVID restrictions have been almost completely lifted.
It is “almost” completely because, while most Saudi visa applicants do not need to show proof of COVID vaccination, some Visa requirements still require this proof. This is especially true for travelers for Hajj or Umrah purposes.
For the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage, along with other necessary vaccination proofs, the COVID-19 vaccination is mandated. And, according to this mandate, if your last vaccination dosage was given over 6 months prior, you would need to take a booster dosage.
Here is a list of vaccinations approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health:
| Approved Vaccine Producer | Vaccine Name | Booster Approval State |
| Pfizer | Pfizer-BioNTech | Approved |
| Moderna | Spikevax | Approved |
| Oxford-AstraZeneca | Covishield/Vaxzevria | Approved |
| Johnson & Johnson | Jcovden | Approved |
| Sinovac | CoronaVac | Requires booster dose from an approved vaccine |
| Sinopharm | BBIBP-CorV | Requires booster dose from an approved vaccine |
Table 2: Saudi Government-approved Covid-19 Vaccines
Therefore, when you apply for a Saudi eVisa, especially for Hajj or Umrah purposes, you need to have completed all recommended doses and the booster dose for one of the approved vaccines mentioned above.
Moreover, a certificate from any of these vaccinations will also be valid and required when applying for a student visa to study in a notable Saudi university.
Step 3: Special Requirements for Hajj & Umrah Travelers
While a COVID-19 vaccination certificate is mandatory for Hajj and Umrah travelers, the pilgrimage also considers the requirement of other vaccinations. This is because these pilgrimages are generally high-density gatherings, with an elevated infection risk.
Here are the other mandatory vaccination requirements for you if you apply for a Saudi eVisa for the Umrah pilgrimage or a Hajj visa:
- The vaccination for the Meningitis virus, the ACWY, should be mandatorily taken at least 10 days before arriving in the country. This vaccination is also mandatory for all visa types.
- Also, an additional seasonal flu vaccine is highly recommended.
- Additionally, based on your location, you might also need to have a certification for a yellow fever vaccination.
- Furthermore, in some specific years, you would also need to present proof of polio vaccination.
Step 4: Yellow Fever and Polio Rules
Depending on when you travel and where you are traveling from, you might be required to present a vaccination proof document for yellow fever or polio. Here are the details on these vaccinations:
Yellow Fever Vaccination
The Yellow Fever vaccination is a specific vaccination requirement when applying for a Saudi visa. While this is a very specific visa requirement, it can apply to any and all forms of visa that you apply for if you’re planning to visit Saudi Arabia.
How is it specific? This is so because it is only applicable for specific travelers. So, if you are traveling from or transitioning through countries with high yellow fever risk, you might require the certificate for this vaccination. These countries generally include countries in South America and Africa, such as Angola, Brazil, Ghana, Peru, and so on.
You are required to present a certificate that has been issued at least 10 days before you arrive in Saudi Arabia. This is, therefore, an important certification for medical for a Saudi Arabia visa.
There are exceptions to this rule as well. The exceptions include:
- Children under nine months of age.
- Transit passengers who are in transit for less than or equal to 12 hours and are not leaving the airport.
Polio Vaccination
Like yellow fever, the Polio vaccination is also a specific vaccine for people traveling from or transiting through polio-circulating areas.
Countries such as Mozambique, Pakistan, and Afghanistan continue to suffer from endemic polio. Therefore, when traveling from or transitioning through any of these countries, the Saudi Arabian government has mandated vaccination.
Your permission for entering the country will depend on these two vaccinations:
The Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): This vaccination certificate should be issued between four weeks and six months before arrival in Saudi Arabia.
Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV): This vaccination certificate should be issued between four weeks and 12 months before arrival.
The only exceptions, in this case, are the passengers who are not leaving their transit area, under the condition that their transition does not cross the 12-hour threshold.
Step 5: Health Insurance Coverage Is Mandatory
Health insurance coverage is completely mandatory for anyone traveling to Saudi Arabia. Every traveler, no matter the visa type or stay duration, or even country of origin/transit, will be required to present a valid health insurance coverage.
A valid health insurance is an insurance plan that is signed by a notable and recognized insurance provider. And when you travel to Saudi Arabia, this will be thoroughly checked at the airport. The checking will be performed digitally, and it will be done during entry at the airports.
As a bonus tip, the best travel insurance you can choose should cover emergency hospitalization, treatment for COVID-19 (specifically for Hajj or Umrah), and emergency evacuation procedures.
A Quick Final Note
To enter Saudi Arabia in 2025, you would need to have some valid medical documents such as vaccination certificates and health insurance documents. And, to ensure smooth entry into the country, you can follow these conditions:
- Get all your health certificates and insurance documents verified during the visa processing and approval process.
- Carry the physical copies of all the documents with you when entering Saudi Arabia.
- Depending on whether you’re traveling to the country during the flu season, officials at the airport might perform temperature checks and verify symptoms.
Heading to Saudi Arabia? Get A Thorough Medical Checkup First!
If you are planning a trip to Saudi Arabia, why not get a thorough medical check-up done? This will prepare you with the necessary documents for if and when required. And not only that, you’ll also get updated on your present health condition! So, don’t wait, and get a checkup done. Oh! And do not forget to re-check the coverage of your health insurance.
