Saudi visa costs depend on three things: which route you're eligible for, how you apply, and whether insurance and service charges are already bundled into the price you're quoted. Two travelers applying for the same trip can end up paying noticeably different amounts simply because one applied for the official eVisa directly, one used a visa service that bundles the government fee, insurance, and support into one price, and one arrived expecting to pay for a visa on arrival. This guide breaks down exactly what you're paying for at every step — the eVisa, visa on arrival, GCC resident rate, Umrah costs, and our own pricing — so there are no surprises at checkout or at the airport.
The Short Answer
| Visa Route | Who It's For | What's Typically Included |
|---|
| Tourist eVisa | Eligible nationalities applying online before travel | Government visa fee + mandatory insurance |
| Visa on Arrival | Eligible travelers arriving without a pre-issued eVisa | Visa fee + insurance, paid at the airport |
| GCC Resident Visa | Eligible residents of GCC countries | Reduced visa fee + insurance |
| Umrah Visa | Eligible travelers performing Umrah outside Hajj season | Visa fee, insurance, and often Umrah-specific service arrangements |
What the Official eVisa Fee Includes
The official Saudi tourist eVisa cost sits at approximately SAR 535 (around $143 USD) once mandatory medical insurance is factored in. This isn't a fee you can strip out to pay separately later — insurance is bundled into the eVisa issuance itself, and every approved eVisa comes with it attached. The insurance component covers emergency medical treatment during your stay, which is why the total is higher than the base visa fee alone. If you see a quote for the tourist eVisa that's noticeably lower than this and doesn't mention insurance, it's worth checking exactly what's included before you pay, since a visa issued without valid insurance coverage isn't something you want to discover only after you've landed.
Visa on Arrival Cost
For eligible travelers who haven't applied for an eVisa in advance, a visa on arrival is available at major Saudi airports, priced at approximately SAR 480 (around $128 USD), insurance included. This route works, but it comes with real trade-offs: you're paying at an airport counter after a long flight, in a currency and payment method the counter accepts, with no chance to have your documents checked in advance. If anything is wrong with your passport, your documents, or your eligibility, you find out at the border rather than days before you fly. For that reason, applying for the eVisa ahead of time is usually the more predictable option, even though the on-arrival fee itself is close to the eVisa price.
GCC Resident Visa Cost
Residents of GCC countries who qualify for the GCC resident visa route pay a reduced rate of approximately SAR 300 (around $80 USD), insurance included — noticeably less than the standard tourist eVisa or visa-on-arrival fee. This rate reflects the more limited eligibility criteria: it's available specifically to qualifying GCC residents rather than the general international traveler pool, so it's worth confirming your residency status and documentation meet the requirements before assuming this lower price applies to you.
Our Saudi Visa Pricing
If you'd rather not handle the eVisa application, document checks, and insurance verification yourself, we offer two express Saudi eVisa options with the government fee, insurance, and our service fee already combined into one price:
Both prices are all-inclusive — there's no separate insurance charge or hidden processing fee added after checkout. The 1 Year Multipurpose Multiple Entry Saudi eVisa is built for travelers who expect to enter and exit Saudi Arabia more than once over the coming year, with each stay capped at 90 days per entry. The 90 Day Multiple Entry Saudi eVisa suits a single trip or a shorter travel window, with a 90-day visa validity and stays of up to 30 days per entry. Our team checks your passport details, photo, and documents before submission, so errors that would otherwise cause a delay are caught early rather than after you've already paid the government fee. You can start either application through Apply Saudi Visa.
What a Service Fee Actually Pays For
When you apply through a visa service provider instead of going directly to the official channel, the price you pay covers more than just passing your payment through to the government. It typically includes a review of your passport and photo against Saudi eVisa requirements before submission, help selecting the correct visa type and travel purpose, submission of the application itself, and support if anything needs to be corrected or followed up on while your visa is processing. A transparent provider should make clear what portion of the price is the government charge and what portion is the service fee — if that breakdown isn't available on request, that's worth asking about before you pay.
Cost in Your Currency
Because the official Saudi visa fee is set in Saudi Riyals, the amount you actually pay in your own currency shifts with the exchange rate at the time of payment. The estimates below use approximate exchange rates as of September 2026 — they'll give you a realistic ballpark, but check a live currency converter right before you pay, since rates move daily and these figures aren't exact to the day.
| Currency | Tourist eVisa (~SAR 535) | Visa on Arrival (~SAR 480) | GCC Resident Visa (~SAR 300) |
|---|
| USD | ~$143 | ~$128 | ~$80 |
| GBP | ~£107 | ~£96 | ~£60 |
| EUR | ~€124 | ~€111 | ~€70 |
| CAD | ~C$196 | ~C$175 | ~C$110 |
| AUD | ~A$203 | ~A$182 | ~A$114 |
| ZAR | ~R2,397 | ~R2,150 | ~R1,344 |
| SGD | ~S$183 | ~S$164 | ~S$102 |
| MYR | ~RM564 | ~RM506 | ~RM316 |
| TRY | ~₺6,848 | ~₺6,144 | ~₺3,840 |
Our own eVisa pricing is fixed in USD, so it's simpler to convert — here's roughly what the 1 Year Multipurpose Multiple Entry eVisa ($300) and the 90 Day Multiple Entry eVisa ($200) come to in the same currencies:
| Currency | 1 Year eVisa ($300) | 90 Day eVisa ($200) |
|---|
| GBP | ~£225 | ~£150 |
| EUR | ~€261 | ~€174 |
| CAD | ~C$411 | ~C$274 |
| AUD | ~A$426 | ~A$284 |
| ZAR | ~R5,040 | ~R3,360 |
| SGD | ~S$384 | ~S$256 |
| MYR | ~RM1,185 | ~RM790 |
| TRY | ~₺14,400 | ~₺9,600 |
For a specific nationality, the more useful question usually isn't "what does it cost in my currency" but "which visa route am I actually eligible for" — since Saudi visa cost for an Indian, UK, US, Canadian, Australian, or other passport holder depends first on eligibility and visa type, and only secondarily on the currency used to pay.
Umrah Visa Cost
The cost of performing Umrah depends heavily on which route is available to you. Travelers whose nationality is eligible for the Saudi tourist eVisa can often use it to perform Umrah outside the dedicated Hajj season, in which case the cost is simply the standard eVisa fee described above — no separate Umrah-specific fee applies. Travelers whose nationality isn't eligible for the tourist eVisa typically need to apply through an authorized Umrah operator instead, and that route usually carries additional charges tied to the operator's services rather than a flat government fee.
On top of whichever visa route applies, most Umrah travelers budget separately for accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, intercity transport, and any group services (guides, transport packages, coordinated itineraries) arranged through an Umrah operator. These additional costs generally make up the largest share of an Umrah trip's total budget — often well beyond the visa fee itself — so it's worth pricing out the full trip rather than focusing on the visa cost in isolation.
Business and Sponsored Visit Visa Cost
A Saudi business visa or sponsored visit visa doesn't follow the same pricing structure as the tourist eVisa, and it's a mistake to assume the two cost roughly the same. Business and sponsored visit visas can involve a government processing fee, mandatory insurance, sponsorship-related charges tied to the inviting company or individual in Saudi Arabia, and a service fee if you're using a provider to manage the application and sponsor coordination. Because sponsorship requirements and fee structures vary by the nature of the visit and the sponsor's documentation, the total cost for this visa type is best confirmed against your specific situation rather than estimated from the tourist eVisa price.
Refunds: When You Get Money Back
Whether any part of a Saudi visa payment is refundable depends on the visa type, how far the application had progressed at the time of cancellation, and the specific refund policy that applies to that payment. As a general pattern: government fees and insurance charges that have already been submitted to the relevant authority are usually harder to recover than a service fee for work that hasn't yet been carried out, and an application that has already entered processing is treated differently from one that hasn't. If you need to cancel or think you may be entitled to a refund, check the applicable Refund Policy for the specifics, or reach out through Contact Us so we can tell you exactly what's recoverable for your situation.
Hidden Costs to Budget For
The visa fee is not the full cost of a Saudi Arabia trip, and travelers who budget only for the visa often underestimate what the trip actually costs once they land. Mandatory visa insurance is generally already bundled into the visa price, so that part is covered — but beyond the visa itself, it's worth setting aside a realistic budget for:
- SIM cards or eSIMs for local data and calls during your stay.
- Airport transfers from arrival to your hotel, especially in cities like Jeddah and Riyadh where distances can be significant.
- Local transport — ride-hailing apps, intercity trains, or a rental car, depending on your itinerary.
- Accommodation, which varies enormously between standard city hotels and premium options near religious sites during peak Umrah periods.
- Meals and incidentals, which can add up quickly in tourist-facing areas compared to smaller local restaurants.
Pricing these out before you travel — rather than after you've already committed to flights — gives you a far more realistic picture of what the trip will actually cost, with the visa fee as just one line item rather than the whole budget.
What Happens After You Pay
Understanding what your payment actually triggers helps explain why the price is structured the way it is. Once you submit payment for an eVisa application, your details and documents move into review — either by the official system directly, or by a visa service provider's team first, if you've applied through one. A provider reviewing your application before submission is effectively spending part of your service fee catching errors that would otherwise surface as a processing delay or rejection later, at no extra cost to you if something needs correcting before it goes to the government system. Once the application clears review, the government fee portion of your payment is what's actually submitted to Saudi authorities for visa issuance; the insurance portion activates alongside the visa itself, covering your stay from the date the visa becomes valid.
This is also why a cheaper-looking quote isn't automatically the better deal. A price that excludes document review, doesn't clearly state whether insurance is included, or offers no support if something goes wrong after submission may end up costing more in the long run if it leads to a delay, a rejection, or a trip to sort out a mismatch after you've already landed.
Factors That Change Your Total Cost
Beyond the base visa fee, a handful of variables tend to move the final number you actually pay, and it's worth knowing them before you compare prices across different sources:
- Nationality and eligibility. Not every nationality qualifies for the tourist eVisa. If yours doesn't, you may be routed toward a sponsored visit visa or an authorized-operator Umrah route instead, both of which carry different fee structures than the standard eVisa.
- Visa validity period. A 1-year multiple-entry visa and a 90-day visa aren't priced the same, and choosing based on your actual travel plans — rather than defaulting to the longer or shorter option — avoids either overpaying for validity you won't use or having to reapply and pay twice.
- Application channel. Applying directly through the official government channel, through a visa-on-arrival counter, or through a visa service provider each comes with a different cost structure, since a provider's price includes document review and support on top of the government fee.
- Exchange rate at time of payment. Since the underlying fee is set in Saudi Riyals, what you're charged in USD, GBP, or another currency shifts with the exchange rate on the day you pay, not the day you first checked the price.
- Age-linked insurance premiums. For some visa categories, especially business and sponsored visas, the mandatory insurance premium increases for older applicants, which can shift the total cost for travelers over roughly 50 compared to younger applicants on the same visa type.
Why Applying Early Can Save You Money
Cost isn't only about the number on the checkout page — it's also about avoiding paying twice. An application submitted with incomplete or mismatched details can be delayed or, in some cases, rejected outright, which sometimes means starting over with a fresh application and a fresh fee. Applying with enough lead time before your travel dates gives room to fix a flagged photo, a document that didn't scan clearly, or a data correction without the added cost and stress of a rushed resubmission close to departure. It also gives you time to compare visa types properly rather than grabbing whichever option loads first because your flight is in two days.
How to Choose Between the 1-Year and 90-Day eVisa
Because both eVisa options are priced differently and serve different travel patterns, it's worth a moment of comparison before you apply rather than defaulting to whichever one appears first. If you already know you'll be making more than one trip to Saudi Arabia within the next year — for repeat business travel, family visits, or multiple Umrah trips — the 1 Year Multipurpose Multiple Entry Saudi eVisa at $300 is usually the better value, since it covers multiple entries under a single application rather than requiring you to reapply and pay again for each trip. If you have a single trip planned, or you're not confident you'll need to return within the year, the 90 Day Multiple Entry Saudi eVisa at $200 covers your travel window at a lower upfront cost without paying for a full year of validity you may not use.
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Pooja is a travel and visa content writer specializing in visa requirements, travel procedures, and immigration information for international destinations. She researches visa rules, documentation, application processes, entry requirements, and travel updates to create clear, practical guides that help travelers understand the visa process and plan their journeys with confidence.