If you are travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet partners, view an office or sign contracts, the business visit visa is the route the rules provide for. This guide compares the visas, lists what each one allows, the documents and the fees published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and explains when a foreign manager has to switch to a work visa and an iqama.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) runs visa services on ksavisa.sa, launched alongside the older visa.mofa.gov.sa platform. Its business visit visa is described as allowing visits “for meetings, conferences, or partnerships”. That fits a founder who is exploring the market, meeting a partner or preparing to set up a company in Saudi Arabia.
There are two ways in. In the standard case a Saudi company invites you: it files the request and the chamber of commerce certifies it online. With no local host, the Ministry of Investment (MISA) investor guide lets the investor attach a document describing their business instead. This is the “visiting investor” route, launched in 2023 and later opened to every nationality.
Two other visas often come up in searches: the tourist eVisa, designed for tourism, and the work visa, which leads to an iqama and requires a company that already exists and employs you. Since July 2026, British citizens also have access to the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).
Table 1
| Visa | Intended use | Invitation | Validity and stay | Where to apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visit with a host | Meetings, conferences, market visits, signing contracts | Yes, from the Saudi company, certified by the chamber of commerce | Single entry: 90 days; multiple entry: 1 year; stays of up to 90 days | ksavisa.sa (host's request), then the channel set for your nationality |
| Business visit without a host (visiting investor) | Exploring investment opportunities | No; attach a document describing your business | As stated on the visa granted | ksavisa.sa |
| Tourist eVisa | Tourism, events, family visits, Umrah (outside Hajj season); no paid or unpaid work | No | Multiple entry: 1 year, total stay of no more than 3 months over that period | ksavisa.sa or visa.visitsaudi.com (about 66 eligible countries, list published on visitsaudi.com, to be confirmed) |
| ETA (British citizens) | Tourism, business, short study, medical treatment; no work or Hajj | No, no sponsor needed | Multiple entry: 2 years (730 days), stays of up to 180 days; SAR 50; cannot be extended | ksavisa.sa |
| Work visa | Employment in the Kingdom, including as general manager | Requested by the company: first senior-position visa through MISA's e-services, later ones on Qiwa | Leads to an iqama, renewed every year | MISA or Qiwa, then entry and iqama through Muqeem |
Documents listed in the MISA investor guide (13th edition, 03-2026) and on the ksavisa.sa service page. Your nationality or the consular channel may add more.
The route with an inviting company. Without a host, you file directly on ksavisa.sa with the description of your business.
The Saudi company enters the business visit request on the MOFA visa platform with your passport details and the duration and number of entries you need.
The chamber of commerce certifies the invitation online. The host then tracks the outcome on the ministry's website.
Online form, photo, health insurance and payment. Depending on your nationality the file is processed online or through a visa centre approved by the Saudi mission in your country.
The ksavisa.sa page states 1 to 2 working days once the invitation is in. Through the consular channel it can take longer; the French foreign ministry, for example, mentions up to three weeks or more.
Biometrics are taken on arrival. Keep strictly to the stay and number of entries granted: any issue at the border has to be handled by your host. The MISA guide says the visa can be extended on the MOFA website.
Fees published on the ksavisa.sa business visit page, checked on 14 October 2026. USD 1 = SAR 3.75 (fixed peg).
Table 2
| Item | Amount | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Visa fee | USD 80 (≈ SAR 300) | Shown as refundable on the official page |
| Visa digital service fee | USD 10.5 | Non-refundable |
| Insurance digital service fee | USD 10.5 | Non-refundable |
| Health insurance | Set by the insurer | Chosen during the application; price depends on length and cover |
| Visa centre or agency | Set by the provider | Only if your file goes through the consular channel |
Once the fees are paid, you can track your application with the search for a submitted application service on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa platform, which covers paid applications. When the visa is issued, you print it from the e-visa printing service on the same platform. The inviting Saudi company follows the visit request and the chamber of commerce endorsement from its own account.
Most delays and refusals come from points you can check before applying: a non-Arabic name not written in Latin letters exactly as in the passport, a passport valid for less than six months, or a missing document on the host's side, such as the copy of its commercial registration or the chamber endorsement. The platform also asks the host to have the visitors' passport details ready before starting the request.
The purpose matters most. It must match what you will actually do in Saudi Arabia: meetings, negotiations, signing contracts. A visit tied to a work contract in the Kingdom falls outside this visa. If an application is refused, fix the statement or the missing document before reapplying; the decision rests with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alone.
Setting up the company does not require you to be there: MISA registration, the articles of association and the commercial registration are done online, often under a power of attorney (see the formation steps). The business visa covers the moments when being there matters: meeting a partner or landlord, viewing a business centre, signing a lease or a commercial contract, meeting a bank.
The MISA guide explicitly lists signing contracts and forming partnerships among the uses of this visa. What it does not allow is employment: the official page says the visit must not be linked to a permanent work contract in the Kingdom. Running the company day to day as its salaried manager needs a work visa.
For the bank account, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) rules allow opening on a passport, provided the iqama is presented within 90 days; details are on our business bank account page. Combining the bank appointment with the manager's residence formalities saves a trip.
A visit visa does not turn into a residence permit. Once the commercial registration is issued, a foreign manager follows a separate route.
MISA, then Qiwa
The MISA guide provides a work visa reserved for senior positions (general manager, CEO, chairman of the board), requested once the CR is issued, with the investment licence, CR, articles of association and passport. The first one is requested through MISA's e-services, later ones from the establishment's account with the Ministry of Human Resources (Qiwa). Book the manager's trip after this visa is issued, not before.
Muqeem
Entry on the work visa, medical check and biometrics, then the iqama (residence permit), managed by the employer on Muqeem, the General Directorate of Passports portal. Budget roughly SAR 2,000 to 3,500 for the visa and medical, then about SAR 650 a year for the iqama (provider estimates, to be confirmed at payment on Muqeem).
No sponsor
A Premium Residency holder lives in the Kingdom without an employer sponsor, enters and leaves without a visa and files a lighter MISA application. Worth comparing if you plan to live there as an investor.
In October 2026 the official ksavisa.sa page lists a USD 80 visa fee (about SAR 300), plus a USD 10.5 digital service fee, a USD 10.5 insurance service fee and the health insurance premium. The fixed items add up to USD 101, about SAR 379, before insurance. If your file goes through a visa centre, its charges come on top.
Yes. According to ksavisa.sa, the business visit visa can be single entry, valid for 90 days, or multiple entry, valid for one year, with stays of up to 90 days. The type and duration requested in the invitation determine what is granted.
A passport valid for at least six months, a photo, health insurance and, in the standard case, an invitation from a Saudi company certified by the chamber of commerce, with a copy of its commercial registration. Without a host, the MISA guide allows a document describing your business instead.
Yes. ksavisa.sa states that the business visit visa is granted to all nationalities. India and Pakistan are not on the tourist eVisa list; only holders of a used Schengen, US or UK visa, or of permanent residence in the EU, US or UK, can get it. For business meetings, plan on the business visit visa, with or without a host: you apply online on ksavisa.sa, then go through a visa service centre or the embassy depending on your country of residence.
Not necessarily. Since 1 July 2026, UK citizens can apply on ksavisa.sa for the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA): SAR 50, valid for 2 years with multiple entries and stays of up to 180 days, and it covers business visits. It does not allow work, so a British general manager of the company still needs a work visa and an iqama.
The tourist visa regulation requires you to keep to the purpose of the visa and bans any paid or unpaid work. Visiting a trade show falls under permitted events, but for negotiations, signing or company matters the business visit visa matches the real purpose of the trip.
No. The business visit visa covers meetings, conferences, market exploration and signing contracts, but it must not be linked to a work contract in the Kingdom. A salaried manager of the company needs a work visa and then an iqama.
The MISA investor guide says the visa can be extended on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website once it expires. For the tourist eVisa, the regulation caps the stay at 3 months over the year of validity; its terms excluded extensions (to be confirmed: the page could not be reached on 14 October 2026). The UK ETA cannot be extended.
A business visit visa covers the GM's trips while the company is being set up. To run the company day to day, the GM needs a work visa for senior positions, requested by the company once the commercial registration is issued: the first one through MISA's e-services, later ones on Qiwa. The GM then enters on that visa and the company issues the iqama through Muqeem.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs platform, individuals of all nationalities aged 18 or over, with a passport valid for at least six months. You need either an invitation from a Saudi company, endorsed by its chamber of commerce, or, as a visiting investor without a host, a document describing your business. The visit must not be tied to employment in the Kingdom.
Use the search for a submitted application service on visa.mofa.gov.sa, which covers applications whose fees have been paid. Once issued, the visa is printed from the e-visa printing service on the same platform. The inviting company follows the visit request and the chamber of commerce endorsement from its own account.
Information verified in October 2026. Amounts and timelines are observed ranges provided for information only. Government fees are set by Saudi authorities and may change: they are confirmed in writing in the quote before you commit to anything.
We fit your trips to the formation timeline: a business visa for the meetings that matter, then the manager's work visa and iqama at the right moment. A free 30-minute first call, then a written fixed-price quote.