Rabat – Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that it will grant visas to anyone planning to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Local and international fans attending the upcoming world cup are required by Qatari authorities to apply for a digital “Hayya card” that will grant them entry permits to the country and to the stadiums dedicated to the tournament.
Based on Saudi Arabia’s announcement, the Hayya card will soon also allow fans to obtain an e-visa through Saudi Arabia’s unified national visa platform and enter the kingdom ten days prior to the cup. The visitors are allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days.
While details on the application process are yet to be announced, the Saudi ministry said on Wednesday evening in a tweet that pre-entry to Qatar is not required, adding that Hayya Card holders will have “the right to enter and exit the Kingdom several times during the validity period of the visa.”
The ministry added in the same tweet that applicants should obtain medical insurance prior to their arrival. The scheme would allow Saudi Arabia to “piggy-back” on the mass of well-off tourists that are set to descend upon Qatar for world football’s most important competition.
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As of June 25, there are 87 days left for the World Cup which is scheduled from November 20 to December 18.
Qatar has spent years preparing to host the most prestigious football event in 2022. In June, Morocco dispatched “several thousands” of police officers to the Gulf nation to reinforce security for the upcoming event.
Morocco has also provided many volunteers for the cup, says Nasser Almogaiseeb, the Volunteer Strategy Manager at Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, adding that most volunteering applications came from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt.
By mid-August, the world cup organization committee selected 20,000 volunteers to provide necessary assistance to attending football teams and fans.
