Omar Haddad
If you are connecting through Saudi Arabia on Saudia or flynas, you can add a stopover visa during the booking process that lets you leave the airport and spend up to 96 hours, or four days, in the Kingdom on a single entry. The visa itself carries no visa fee. You pay an application fee and compulsory medical insurance instead, quoted at about $39.50 in total on the official Visit Saudi guidance, and the visa is valid for entry for 90 days from the date it is issued. It is not a general transit visa for every airline, it cannot be extended, and it does not cover Hajj. This guide explains who can claim it, how the booking flow works, what the four days realistically allow in Riyadh or Jeddah, and when a different Saudi visa is the safer choice.
Quick Facts: The Saudi Stopover Visa at a Glance
- Who issues it: Saudia and flynas only, offered during the flight booking process for connecting itineraries through Saudi Arabia.
- Stay allowed: Up to 96 hours, or four days, on a single entry.
- Validity: 90 days from the date of issue to enter Saudi Arabia.
- Visa fee: Free. The stopover visa itself has no visa fee.
- Charges that still apply: An application fee of about $10.50 and medical insurance of about $29, for a total of about $39.50, confirmed on screen before you pay.
- Official platform: The stopover visa sits on the national eVisa platform linked from visa.visitsaudi.com, operated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Permitted uses: Tourism, attending events, and performing Umrah with a booking made through Nusuk. Hajj is not permitted on this visa.
- Extensions: Not extendable. Your onward flight must leave within the 96 hours.
- Fees checked: 13 November 2026, against official Visit Saudi and airline guidance. Always confirm the final total in your own booking, because charges are shown per itinerary.
Who Can Claim the Stopover Visa, and Who Cannot?
The stopover visa is tied to the ticket, not to the airport. You need a confirmed connecting itinerary on Saudia or flynas that passes through a Saudi hub, with an onward flight to a third destination. A simple return ticket to Saudi Arabia as the final destination does not create a stopover, because there is no transit leg for the visa to attach to. If your long haul sectors are with any other carrier, this product is not available to you at booking, however long your layover is, and you would need to look at the regular tourist eVisa or a transit visa through official channels instead.
Eligibility also depends on nationality, and the two airlines do not publish identical gates. Visit Saudi describes the stopover visa as open to passengers booking with Saudia or flynas, while the flynas guidance lists a defined set of countries for its electronic stopover route. That difference matters in practice. The booking flow is the deciding test: if the stopover visa option appears for your passport and itinerary and the application is accepted, you have your answer. If it does not appear, do not assume a workaround exists at the airport. Build your plans only on a visa you actually hold, and check your passport position on the official platform before you commit to nonrefundable hotels or tours.
Travellers from Gulf Cooperation Council states sit outside this system entirely, because separate entry rules apply to them. Everyone else should also remember that an issued visa is not a guarantee of admission. Border officers make the final entry decision, as Saudia states in its own guidance, so carry your onward ticket, your insurance documents, and your accommodation details in a form you can show on arrival.
How Do You Add the Visa When You Book?
Booking with Saudia, step by step
Start on the Saudia website or app and search for your full connecting journey in one booking, for example a single ticket from your origin to your final destination with the connection in Riyadh or Jeddah. During the booking flow, look for the stopover visa option presented with the extras for the itinerary, and select it for each passenger who needs one. You then complete the visa application details inside that flow, review the application fee and insurance charge shown on screen, and pay. The application is routed to the national visa platform, and the issued visa and insurance documents are sent to you electronically. Keep both documents with your booking confirmation, and check the names and passport numbers character by character before you travel.
Booking with flynas, and how it differs
Flynas offers the stopover visa through its own booking channels and its stopover pages. The core product is the same: a single entry stay of up to 96 hours attached to a connecting flynas itinerary. The practical differences are the eligibility list described above and the price presentation, because flynas prices the add on in its own flow and the amount you see can differ by route and currency. Treat any headline price, including prices quoted in riyals in promotional material, as provisional until your own booking screen shows the final application and insurance total. Pay only inside the official airline flow or the official eVisa platform, and be wary of third party sites that imitate the stopover product and add service fees on top.
When should you apply?
Apply as part of the booking itself, or as soon after booking as the airline flow allows, rather than in the final days before departure. The visa is valid for 90 days from issue, so an application made at booking time still covers a trip taken weeks later, and applying early leaves room to fix a data error or to switch to a different visa route if the application is refused. If your passport is due for renewal, renew first and book the visa against the new document, because a visa tied to an old passport number creates problems no stopover is worth.
What Can You Actually Do in 96 Hours?
Four days is long enough for one city done properly, not two cities done thinly. Most Saudia connections route through Riyadh or Jeddah, and the sensible plan is to base yourself in the arrival city and treat everything else as a bonus. In Riyadh, that means the historic district of Diriyah and At Turaif, the National Museum, and the modern skyline around Kingdom Centre, paced around the heat of the day. In Jeddah, it means the Al Balad old town with its coral stone houses, the corniche, and an evening food scene that rewards travellers who stay out late. Trying to add a domestic flight to the other city inside a stopover usually costs more time in airports than it returns in sightseeing.
Religious travel sits inside the same window. The stopover visa can be used to perform Umrah, and travellers planning Umrah must book their Umrah or Ziyarah arrangements through Nusuk, the official platform, before heading to Makkah. Build that booking into your timings first and plan the rest of the stopover around it, because the 96 hour clock does not pause. The visa cannot be used for Hajj under any circumstances, and travellers whose main purpose is Hajj need the dedicated Hajj route in season.
For context on how pre-travel authorisations differ across the region, our guide to Israel’s ETA-IL and who must apply before flying shows a neighbouring system with a very different logic, while travellers extending a Gulf and Arabian Peninsula trip south can pair a Saudi stopover with the khareef country described in our guide to Salalah, Oman and its green season. A stopover also pairs naturally with a Jordan extension, and our guide to visiting Petra, covering the Siq and the Treasury, is the right planning read for that leg.
What Does the Stopover Really Cost?
The honest answer is that the visa line is the smallest part of the bill. The visa fee is free, and the official guidance puts the unavoidable charges at about $10.50 for the application plus about $29 for the medical insurance, roughly $39.50 per person in total. Everything else is trip cost you choose: one to four hotel nights, airport transfers or taxis, food, and any tours. When you compare a stopover against flying straight through, compare the full stack, not the visa price. A cheap visa attached to an expensive hotel night in peak season can cost more than a shorter connection and a direct arrival, while a stopover that replaces a separate future trip to Saudi Arabia can be exceptional value.
Two cost traps catch people out. The first is third party visa sites that charge large service fees for a product the airline offers inside its own booking flow. The second is assuming a second stopover is included on the return leg. Saudia guidance allows one stopover per booking, so a traveller hoping to stop in both directions should read the booking conditions carefully and, if needed, split the planning into separate tickets with separate visa arrangements, each verified before purchase.
When Is a Different Visa the Better Choice?
Choose the regular tourist eVisa route instead if any of these apply: you are flying a carrier other than Saudia or flynas, Saudi Arabia is your main destination rather than a connection, you want more than four days, you want multiple entries, or you want the freedom to change your flights without your visa collapsing with the ticket. The stopover visa is superb inside its narrow design brief and fragile outside it. Flight changes deserve special attention. Because the visa is generated from a specific booking, a rebooked itinerary can leave the visa record out of step with the flights you actually take. If your airline changes your schedule, go back into the booking and confirm the visa is still attached and valid for the new timings before you travel.
Also think about arrival timing. The 96 hours run from your entry, and a long first day spent in immigration and transfers is part of your allowance, not extra. Overnight arrivals that reach a hotel at dawn effectively trade a night of the stopover for sleep. Where the timetable gives you a choice of connections, the connection that lands in the morning and leaves in the evening on day four usually returns the most usable hours on the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Saudi Stopover Visa
Is the Saudi stopover visa really free?
The visa fee itself is free for Saudia and flynas passengers who add it during booking. You still pay an application fee of about $10.50 and compulsory medical insurance of about $29, so budget about $39.50 per person, confirmed on screen in your own booking before you pay.
How long can I stay in Saudi Arabia on a stopover visa?
Up to 96 hours, which is four days, on a single entry. The visa is valid for entry for 90 days from the date it is issued, it cannot be extended, and your onward flight must depart within the 96 hours.
Can I perform Umrah on the stopover visa?
Yes. Umrah is a permitted use of the stopover visa, provided you book your Umrah or Ziyarah arrangements through Nusuk, the official platform, in advance. Hajj is not permitted on this visa at any time.
Can I get the stopover visa if I fly Emirates, Qatar Airways, or another airline?
No. The stopover visa is issued only through Saudia and flynas booking channels. Passengers connecting on other airlines need a different route, such as the regular tourist eVisa if eligible, arranged through official channels before travel.
What happens if my flights change after the visa is issued?
Because the visa is created from your booking, a schedule change or rebooking can leave it mismatched with your itinerary. Go back into the airline booking, confirm the visa is still attached to the new flights, and contact the airline before travel if anything looks wrong.
Can I stop over on both the outbound and return journeys?
Saudia guidance allows one stopover per booking, so do not assume both directions are covered. Read the conditions shown in your booking flow, and if you want two stopovers, plan and verify each one separately before you pay for anything nonrefundable.
Visa rules, fees, and eligibility lists change. This guide was checked on 13 November 2026 against official Visit Saudi and airline guidance, and it is general information, not immigration advice. Confirm your own position in the Saudia or flynas booking flow and on the official eVisa platform before you travel.
