Saudi Arabia has implemented new visa regulations that limit travellers from 14 countries, including Nigeria, to single-entry visas valid for 30 days, with no option for renewal or extension.

The policy affects tourists, business visitors, and individuals visiting family members.

However, those applying for Hajj, Umrah, diplomatic, or residency visas are exempted from these restrictions.

The affected countries are Nigeria, Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Saudi authorities have justified the decision as a measure to address growing concerns about the misuse of multiple-entry visas.

According to officials, some travellers used these long-term visas to overstay, live in the country illegally, or participate in Hajj without proper authorization.

The Saudi government enforces a strict Hajj attendance quota system for each country to manage the annual pilgrimage and prevent overcrowding.

However, violations of this quota have contributed to severe congestion issues, especially in recent years. In 2024, the situation became critical when over 1,200 pilgrims lost their lives due to extreme heat and overcrowding. Authorities believe that unregistered pilgrims, many of whom entered the country on multiple-entry visas, exacerbated the crisis.

While officials have described the suspension of multiple-entry visas as a temporary measure, they did not specify how long the new policy will remain in place.

The government intends to evaluate the impact of the change before deciding on future adjustments.

Travellers from affected countries are urged to apply for their single-entry visas well in advance of their trips to avoid delays or disruptions.

Saudi authorities emphasised the importance of complying with the new guidelines to avoid penalties.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also advised travellers to stay updated on visa policies through official government channels and ensure they follow all entry requirements.

These new regulations are expected to significantly affect travel plans for thousands of individuals, especially business travelers and those with family in Saudi Arabia, who may need to adjust their travel schedules accordingly.

…. cautions Israel on Gaza move

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has firmly stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot displace Palestinians from Gaza as they are not immigrants.

Netanyahu had agreed with US President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace all Palestinians residing in Gaza.

Trump’s proposal is to take over the Gaza Strip, resettle Palestinians elsewhere, and create a “Riviera of the Middle East”.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its appreciation for the widespread condemnation of Netanyahu’s remarks by other countries.

Saudi government emphasized its categorical rejection of such statements, which it believes aim to divert attention from the ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Kingdom highlighted that the Israeli occupation’s extremist mentality fails to understand the emotional, historical, and legal connection between the Palestinian people and their land.

The statement also highlighted the devastating impact of the Israeli occupation on Gaza, where over 160,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed or injured.

The Kingdom affirmed the Palestinian people’s right to their land and rejected the notion that they can be expelled at the whim of the Israeli occupation.

The Saudi government also reiterated its commitment to the two-state solution as the only path to lasting peace.

The statement reads: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appreciates the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection announced by the brotherly countries towards what Benjamin Netanyahu stated regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land and the Kingdom values the positions that emphasize the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the Arab and Muslim countries.

In this context, the Kingdom stresses its categorical rejection to such statements that aim to divert attention from the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are subjected to.

“The Kingdom also points out that this extremist, occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the brotherly people of Palestine and their emotional, historical and legal connection to this land, and it does not think that the Palestinian people deserve to live in the first place, as it has completely destroyed the Gaza Strip, killed and injured more than 160,000, most of them children and women, without the slightest human feeling or moral responsibility.

“The Kingdom affirms that the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes.

“The Kingdom notes that the proponents of these extremist ideas are the ones who prevented Israel from accepting peace by refusing peaceful coexistence, rejecting the peace initiatives adopted by the Arab countries, and systematically practicing injustice towards the Palestinian people for more than 75 years, with disregard to the truth, justice, law and the values established in the United Nations Charter, including the human’s right to live in dignity on his land.

“The Kingdom reiterates that the right of the Palestinian People will remain firmly established and no one will be able to take it away from them no matter how long it takes.

“The Kingdom also asserts that lasting peace will not be achieved except by returning to the logic of reason and accepting the principle of peaceful coexistence through the two-state solution.”

Prince Harry can breathe freely in Montecito, because President Donald Trump has ruled out deporting the self-exiled British royal.

Harry’s immigration status is the subject of litigation in Washington DC, with the Heritage Foundation alleging that he may have concealed past illegal drug use that should have disqualified him from obtaining a US visa.

But the president told The New York Post Friday that he isn’t interested in throwing Harry out of the country.

“I don’t want to do that,” he said. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”

Trump took the opportunity to praise Harry’s estranged older brother William, with whom he met privately in Paris in December during the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

“I think William is a great young man,” he said.

The Duke of Sussex and his liberal American wife Meghan Markle have voiced disapproval of Trump over the years, including one outburst in which the Duchess called the president “divisive” and “misogynistic”.

Trump in turn has described Harry as “whipped” by Markle. “I think poor Harry is being led around by the nose.”

Heritage cited Harry’s autobiography “Spare” — in which he admitted to using cocaine, cannabis and psychedelics — when it sued the Department of Homeland Security last year to force the release of his US visa records.

“Anyone who applies to the United States has to be truthful on their application, and it is not clear that is the case with Prince Harry,” Heritage’s Nile Gardiner told the London Daily Telegraph.

The conservative think tank suggests Harry was given preferential treatment by the Biden administration after he and Meghan moved to California in 2020 following their acrimonious “Megxit” split from the royal family.