By Anaya Noor, Senior Travel Writer and Hajj & Umrah Specialist
Yes, UK citizens need a visa for Saudi Arabia. There are now three online options. These are the Electronic Travel Authorisation, the tourist eVisa, and the electronic visa waiver. All three cover Umrah outside Hajj season. Your passport must have at least six months left on it from your arrival date.
That is the short answer. The longer one matters more, because picking the wrong route can cost you money, insurance cover, or both. We arrange Umrah packages for British pilgrims every week, and this is the question that comes up before any other.
Three routes, not one
Since 1 July 2026, British passport holders have had access to a Saudi Electronic Travel Authorisation. A lot of UK sites announced that it had replaced everything else. It hasn’t. The FCDO currently lists all three routes as live, and each one suits a different traveller.
| ETA | Tourist eVisa | Electronic visa waiver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | 730 days from issue | 365 days from issue | Single entry |
| Total stay allowed | 180 days across the 730 | 90 days across the 365 | Up to 180 days |
| Entries | Multiple | Multiple | One only |
| Health insurance included | No | Yes, up to SAR 100,000 | No |
| Covers Umrah outside Hajj | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Also covers | Business, study, medical | Tourism only | Business, study, medical |
| Where to apply | ksavisa.sa | visa.visitsaudi.com or on arrival | visa.mofa.gov.sa |
Read that insurance row again. It is the line that catches people out.
The insurance trade off nobody explains
The ETA is the cheapest of the three by a wide margin. Reported government fees put it at around SAR 50, roughly £10, against SAR 480 to SAR 535 for the eVisa, which works out around £100 to £130. Those figures move with the exchange rate and I would not treat any blog’s number as a quote, including this one. Check the portal.
So why would anyone pay ten times more?
Because the eVisa fee bundles health insurance up to SAR 100,000. The ETA includes none. If you take the ETA and skip travel insurance, you are uninsured in a country where a GHIC is worthless and private treatment is expensive. The FCDO advises taking out additional cover beyond that SAR 100,000 ceiling anyway, which tells you something about typical costs there.
In practice, the ETA plus a proper UK travel insurance policy usually still works out cheaper than the eVisa, and gives you better cover. But you have to actually buy the policy. What often gets missed is that people choose the cheap route and then treat the saving as money in their pocket rather than money that needs reallocating.
Which route actually fits you
Going once, for a single Umrah trip, and want the paperwork to be over in one go? The electronic visa waiver is single entry with a generous 180 day allowance. You apply at least 48 hours before your flight and you need flight details to hand, which means it is not something you can sort months ahead without a booking.
Going more than once over the next two years? The ETA. Two full years of validity and multiple entries means one application covers several trips. For families who do Umrah in Ramadan one year and again in the winter the next, that’s the obvious pick.
Travelling purely as a tourist, happy to pay more, want insurance handled in one transaction? The eVisa. It is also the only one of the three available on arrival at Saudi international airports, which is a genuine safety net if something goes wrong online.
One thing all three share: none of them covers Hajj. Hajj requires its own visa, booked through the Nusuk Hajj platform, and if you are planning Hajj 2027 from the UK the registration timeline is completely separate from anything on this page. Turning up on an ETA during Hajj season and expecting to perform Hajj is not a grey area, it’s a deportation risk.
What you need before you apply
A British passport with at least six months left from your arrival date. Not six months from application. From arrival. People get this wrong when they’re booking eight months ahead on a passport that expires in nine.
A digital passport scan and a passport style photo. Card payment. Flight details, if you’re going the electronic visa waiver route.
Two things that trip UK applicants up more than anything technical. First, the name on your application must match your passport exactly, including middle names. Second, apply for every traveller separately, children included. A family of five means five applications.
What usually goes wrong
Third party sites. Search “Saudi visa UK” and most of the first page is agencies charging £35 to £50 to fill in a form you can complete yourself in ten minutes. Some are legitimate assistance services and say so clearly. Others are less clear about the fact that they are not the Saudi government. The official portals are ksavisa.sa for the ETA, visa.visitsaudi.com for the eVisa, and visa.mofa.gov.sa for the waiver. Anything else is an intermediary.
Leaving it to the day before. Most applications clear within minutes to a few hours, but “most” is doing work in that sentence. Apply at least 48 hours ahead, and further out if you can.
Previous travel to Israel. The FCDO warns you may not be allowed to enter Saudi Arabia if your passport shows you have travelled to, or were born in, Israel. Worth knowing before you book flights rather than after.
Flights during Hajj. Saudi authorities have stopped visitors who are not performing Hajj from flying into Jeddah, Madinah and Taif during the Hajj period. You can still enter through other airports, but if your plan was a cheap Jeddah flight in Dhul Hijjah, check with your airline first.
Reported approval times are a few minutes to a few hours for most applicants. But that is an average, not a promise.
The FCDO route needs the electronic visa waiver at least 48 hours before your flight. That 48-hour minimum is sensible for all three routes, even if not required.
Apply a week ahead if your dates are fixed. Apply earlier if you travel during Ramadan or around Hajj. During these periods, volumes rise, and the portals are busiest, which is worth building into your planning if you are looking at Ramadan Umrah packages.
Umrah on a tourist route: is it really allowed?
Yes, and this surprises people who remember the old system. The FCDO confirms you can apply for an e-visa or electronic visa waiver to perform Umrah outside of the Hajj season, and the ETA covers it too. You no longer need a dedicated Umrah visa arranged through a licensed agent.
That said, pilgrims still need the quadrivalent meningococcal ACWY vaccination certificate, which is a Saudi entry requirement for Hajj and Umrah travellers regardless of which route you used to get in. Book that with your GP or a travel clinic well ahead.
Common questions
Do UK citizens need a visa for Saudi Arabia?
Yes. The FCDO states plainly that you must get a visa to visit Saudi Arabia. Entry is not visa-free for British passport holders, despite what some sites claim. You can apply online through the ETA, eVisa or electronic visa waiver routes depending on your purpose and how often you travel.
How much is a Saudi visa for UK citizens?
Reported figures put the ETA around SAR 50, roughly £10, and the tourist eVisa at SAR 480 to SAR 535, around £100 to £130 with health insurance included. Fees change and exchange rates move, so confirm the current amount on the official portal before applying.
How long does a Saudi eVisa take?
Most applications are approved within minutes to a few hours. Apply at least 48 hours before departure to allow for delays, and earlier if your travel dates are fixed. The electronic visa waiver has a formal 48 hour minimum and can be submitted up to 90 days ahead.
Can UK citizens perform Umrah on a tourist visa?
Yes, outside Hajj season. The FCDO confirms the eVisa and electronic visa waiver both cover Umrah, and the ETA does too. Hajj is different and needs its own visa booked through the Nusuk Hajj platform. You still need the ACWY meningitis certificate as a pilgrim.
Can UK citizens get a Saudi visa on arrival?
The tourist eVisa can be obtained on arrival at any Saudi international airport. The ETA and electronic visa waiver must be arranged before you travel. Applying online beforehand is safer regardless, since airport queues and system problems are not the start to a trip anyone wants.
How long can UK citizens stay in Saudi Arabia?
It depends on the route. The ETA allows 180 days in total across a 730 day validity period. The eVisa allows 90 days across 365 days. The electronic visa waiver permits a single entry of up to 180 days. Overstaying risks fines, detention and a re-entry ban.
Before you book anything
Read the FCDO’s Saudi Arabia entry requirements on GOV.UK in full. It is updated when rules change, and it is the only UK source that carries any weight if a dispute arises at the airport. Then apply directly through the relevant official Saudi portal, not an intermediary.
Check your passport expiry against your arrival date, not today’s date. Book your ACWY vaccination if you’re travelling for Umrah. If you’d rather have flights, hotels, transfers, and timing handled together, Aqdas Travel arranges Umrah trips for pilgrims across the UK, including umrah packages from London departing Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. We’re ATOL protected under licence 12834.
One honest caveat. The ETA is new, launched in July 2026, and the way the three routes interact is still settling. Fee figures quoted here come from reported sources rather than official published price lists, and some UK sites are already describing the ETA as having replaced the waiver when the FCDO still lists both. Check the official portal on the day you apply, because this is one area where a page written three months ago can already be out of date.
