About MOFA Family Visit Visa Application. MOFA, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issues visas to citizens of foreign countries. MOFA also issues the ‘family visit visa’ for the immediate family members of the ex-pats in Saudi Arabia.
Read below for all the details on how to get a Saudi ‘family visit visa’, its types, eligibility, required documents, status check, fees, and other details.
Saudi Arabia Family Visit Visa
MoFA family visit visa Description
The family visit visa permits beneficiaries to travel to Saudi Arabia to visit their first-degree relatives, parents, wives, children, brothers, and sisters.
Requirements for a Saudi ‘family visit visa’
Any legal Saudi resident or citizen, an Iqama holder, can apply on behalf of the visitor for the MoFA family visit visa. The Applicant’s Iqama must be valid for at least four months when applying for the visit visa.
The Iqama holder must apply for the MOFA ‘family visit visa,’ and an Iqama holder’s dependents cannot use ‘their own’ Iqamas to apply for the visit visa themselves.
MOFA requires the following documents for the family visit visa:
- Copy of sponsor Iqama holder’s passport.
- Valid International Passport with a maximum of 6 months validity remaining
- Copy of the Iqama or residency permit sponsor
- Four photographs passport-sized.
- Applicants apostilled copy of the National ID card
- Apostilled Marriage certificate
Eligibility for family visit visa
Family visit visas are issued only to a resident’s immediate family. The following persons are eligible for a family visit visa:
- Parents
- Father-in-law and mother-in-law
- Husband or wife
- Children
- Brothers or sisters and their wives/husbands and their children
Procedure for Saudi family visit visa application
The following steps are required to obtain a family visit visa in MOFA:
How to Fill out the application online
- On the MOFA website, click the Family Visit Visa Application for Residents
- Or click on ‘Apply’ on the ‘Family Visit Visa Application for Citizens’
- Click on the ‘Login’
- Select option ‘Username and Password.’
- Type in your Absher account’s Username (Iqama Number) and Password. Select ‘Sign In.’
- Type in the OTP received on your mobile number registered for your Absher account.
- Click on ‘Tracking’ and log into the MOFA website.
- Click on ‘Apply’ beneath the option ‘Family Visit Visa Application for Residents.’
- The screen will show your personal information. Scroll down and fill in the required details.
- Type in ‘Family Visit Only’ for the ‘Visit Objectives’ column in Arabic. Use Google Translate or get assistance if you are not fluent in Arabic.
- If you have previously visited Saudi Arabia, fill in the ‘Entry Visa Number.’ Your Visa Number is stamped on your passport.
- Next, click ‘Add’ under the ‘Wanted to Visit’ column.
- Fill in the required Personal data of the Applicant only in Arabic. These include
- Nationality,
- Family Name,
- First Name,
- Grand Name,
- Place of Birth,
- Date of Birth,
- Father’s Name,
- Gender,
- Occupation,
- Mobile,
- Email,
- Religion, and
- Relation. Please ensure all the information match the passport.
- Fill in the Applicant’s Passport Number, Passport Issue Date, Passport Expiry Date, Passport Type, and Place of Issue.
- Continue on the same page, and fill in the Applicant’s Visa Information, including the nearest Saudi Embassy in your country. Fill in the type of family visit visa you require, Multiple Entry or Single Entry.
- Recheck all information and click on ‘Add .’Applicant data’ now will appear under the ‘Wanted to Visit’ column.
- Click on ‘Edit’ if you need to change any information.
- For additional Applicants, click the ‘Add’ button and repeat the process, filling in the additional applicants’ data. After filling in all data, click on ‘Agreement Approval’ and select ‘Save.’
- The website will now generate the Applicant’s ‘Order Number’ and will display a ‘Request a Family Visa’ form of the Applicant.
- Scroll through the form to ensure all the information is correct.
- To download and save, Click ‘Print.’ You can also print the application for further processing.
Getting the sponsor or the Chamber of Commerce approval
The Saudi legal resident/Iqama holder must print out the online MOFA family visit visa application and take it to the sponsor to stamp and sign the form.
The Saudi Chamber of Commerce will attest the MOFA visa application form if required for Private Company employees. Chamber of commerce attestations are done online by the sponsor or the sponsor company.
You may also like to read about: Types of Visas In Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, government employees are required to submit their visa application forms to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For domestic workers, employers can approve their visa applications through their Absher accounts. There is no need to submit these applications anywhere else.
Send the family a copy of the completed form or visa number
MOFA portal will show the approval status within a week of the sponsor signing the application form. Check the approval status of the application under the ‘Enquiry’ column of the MOFA website.
Use the Applicant’s order and record numbers (Iqama numbers) to check the status.
An accepted application on the MOFA website will show ‘Visa Document’ instead of the previous ‘Request a Family Visa.’ The Applicant’s ‘Order Number’ will change to the ‘Visa Document Number.’
Save the visa document and forward a scanned copy of the signed and stamped application form to the person applying for the Family Visit Visa.
Please have your document stamped within 90 days of the MOFA approval date.
Submitting documents at the Saudi Embassy in your country
Applicants can use an agent or submit the documents personally to their country’s Saudi Embassy or the Saudi Consulate. Depending on where they are, they could get the visa-stamped passport in person or by mail.
You can write to the Saudi consulate for a list of approved agents in your country.
Visa processing time
The Saudi ‘family visit visa’ processing usually takes 4 to 5 days. Occasionally a high volume of applications could cause minor delays in the process.
Extension of family visit visa
Single-entry visit visas are limited to a three-month stay. Additionally, they extend the stay period for people with transit visas. They can stay up to 96 hours, which is good for three months. Single-entry visit visas are subject to this change.
You may also like to read about: Differentiating Between A Original And Fake Saudi Visa
A multiple-entry visa is valid for 90 days, while a single-entry visa for family visits is only valid for 30 days.
Extending a multiple-entry family visit visa requires the holders of a multiple-entry family visa to exit the country after three months before the extension process can begin. There are fines for people who don’t adhere to this requirement.
Eligibility for extension of the visit visa:
- The visa requiring an extension must still be valid for at least another few days or a week.
- The visitor must have no traffic violations lodged against him.
- The visitor must be present inside the Kingdom.
- The visitor’s passport should be valid till the requested extension.
- Pay the fee for visa extension.
The Saudi ‘family visit visa’ extension fee is SAR 100.
How to extend your visa online:
- Click Passport Services on the Absher platform
- Choose Visit Visa Extension.
- Enter the required information and attachments.
- Pay the fees.
- Submit your application.
To extend the Visit Visa offline:
Book an appointment via the Absher app and visit the nearest Jawazat office. Fill in the necessary forms in the Jawazat office. This will start the extension process for you.
You may also like to read about: Canceling Family Visit Visa For Saudi Arabia
Family visit visa fee
The cost of a single and multiple entry visa for a MoFA Saudi family visit visa is fixed at SR 200. This fee applies to all applicants, including the ones from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Status Check of your visa application
Take the following steps to check the validity of your Saudi family visit visa on the MOFA website.
- Visit the website.
- Change inquiry type to ‘issued invitation request.’
- Type in your visa number and ID number (Iqama number).
- Enter the Captcha code correctly,
- Click ‘Search.’
The following page will display your Saudi family visit visa status.
Validity of your family visit visa
The MoFA Saudi family visit visa validity is as follows:
- The Single Entry Visit Visa – is issued for 30 days. This type of visa can receive five extensions of 30 days each.
- The Multiple Entry Visit Visa issued for 90 days is allowed four re-entries.
Renewing your family visit visa
Applicants can have their single-entry family visit renewed five times at the most.
However, you cannot renew a Multiple Entry Saudi family visit visa. Such visitors must adhere to the visa control system and exit the Kingdom within the visa validity.
You may also like to read about: What To Do If Your Saudi Iqama Gets Lost
To extend your Saudi family visit visa, visit a Jawazat office by making an appointment online at the Absher platform:
- Login to the Absher platform.
- Under e-services, Click “Passport Services.”
- Choose “Visit Visa Extension.”
- Type in the required information and add attachments.
- Pay the fee.
- Submit application.
The ‘family visit visa’ extension fee is SAR 100. An overstay on the family visit visa will result in a hefty fine of 25,000 Riyals per visitor.
Saudi ‘family visit visa’ stamping status
The online check for the visa stamping status is relatively straightforward. All you have to do is
- Click on https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/
- Revise the inquiry to ‘issued invitation request’
- Type in your visa number and Iqama/ ID number.
- Enter the Captcha code, and click ‘Search.’
Your visit visa stamping status will be available on the next page.
