Saudi Arabia is one of the growing economic destinations and one of the G20 nations. In recent years there has been extensive investment in diverse fields of the economy which has attracted many expats including Canadians. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest trading partners of Canada in the Middle East. There are thousands of Canadians who work and reside in Saudi Arabia. There are also thousands who travel there regularly for business. Canadians do need to obtain a visa to travel to Saudi Arabia. Whether for business, work visit or commercial trip. Doing business in Saudi you require an entry visa which can be very specific depending on the nature of the business, the job title of the applicant travelling. For example, if you are going for a consultation or a lecture/ workshop, training session and your host or sponsor is a Saudi government entity such as ministry of health or university then your visa can be named a Saudi (government visa). You can go in for the same purposes where your inviter or sponsor is a private company, this can be named a Saudi commercial or business visit visa. If you are going for a private company for a technical assignment, then your visa will be named working visit visa. Each of those types of Saudi visas has unique visa requirements linked to it. In order to apply for a visa to the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canada your sponsor or inviter in Saudi Arabia must apply for visa authorization or a letter of invitation through the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs. When the sponsors request is granted then he must send you a copy of the visa slip or approved letter of invitation in order to start your process of applying for the Saudi visa at the Saudi embassy in Ottawa. It’s worth mentioning here that all the approved documentation coming from Saudi Arabia concerning the visa are Arabic documents. Therefore, the best way to go is emailing us the document/ invitation that you have received from your Saudi sponsor to and our dedicated staff who are fluent in Arabic will reply to you with the visa information and the requirements needed in order to obtain the Saudi visa. The Golden rule is not to prepare any specific requirements before you have received the Saudi visa slip or letter of invitation from your sponsor as this will determine which requirements you actually need. Certain clients they may rush to prepare their trip going for business in Saudi, however there are many types of Saudi business invitation that can be issued. If you are not sure which type you require then do not start anything as you may be wasting your time and money on assumed visa requirements but upon receipt of your actual visa slip or invitation you may end up with a different type of Saudi visa which requires different set of Saudi visa requirements. The type of Saudi visa that could be for an applicant who is going to conduct business in Saudi it can be one of the following:

1. Saudi government visa – If your inviter is a Saudi government entity and you are doing business with the Saudi government, department entity or associate

2. Commercial visit visa / business visit visa – If your inviter is private sector registered in Saudi Arabia. It could be a registered company or a business registered under and individual.

3. Saudi work visit visa – If the nature of business you will be conducting is technical/ vocational and your inviter is a private company

4. Visiting organization and diplomatic mission- This type of Saudi visa invitation you will receive if your sponsor/ inviter is an international organization or a diplomatic mission such as the United Nations, Islamic development bank or the Embassy of Canada in Saudi Arabia etc.

Visa types two and three mentioned above which are the Saudi commercial/ business visa and the work visit visa can be produced in two forms of documentation from the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs. One is called authorization which means pre- approved visa. The second one is an approved letter of invitation that is a little less powerful than the former however receiving an approved invitation by Saudi ministry of foreign affairs it does not guarantee you being issued the visa by the embassy. This is just a permission to apply for the Saudi visa from the Saudi embassy in Ottawa through authorized agencies by the embassy such as Visaenterprise. The Saudi embassy in Ottawa has specific requirements for each Saudi visa type. Obtaining those requirements is the key to smoothing out your Saudi visa application process. The key to this is to contact Visaenterprise with your Saudi approved invitation in order to determine what are the requirements linked with your Saudi visa applications.

Why Visaenterprise are Saudi Arabia's first choice for processing your visa:

• First ever authorized Canadian visa agency for Saudi Arabian consular services
• Fastest processing times / Reasonable rates.
• Most experienced agents in KSA visa
• Multilingual service (English/Arabic/French)
• Professional relationship with the Saudi Arabian consulate.
• Close proximity to the KSA embassy
• Also close proximity to the Saudi consular/ visa service such as Canadian chamber of commerce and Global affairs Canada (formerly Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and development Canada) This will allow Visaenterprise to submit Saudi visa application the same day it was received from the client to the Saudi embassy. This is one of our many advantages over the competition.

Steps for obtaining Saudi visa in Ottawa:

1. Obtain the approved invitation from your sponsor, this can be a scanned copy by email. It does not have to be couriered from your sponsor in Saudi Arabia.

2. Email the approved Saudi visa invitation document to

3. Receive a response from Visaenterprise with full detailed information regarding your Saudi visa type, the Saudi visa requirements related to your Saudi visa and the forms.

4. Start preparing your Saudi visa requirements

5. Use the checklist provided in Visaenterprise for your Saudi visa type to make sure all the requirements are done correctly

6. You may email Visaenterprise all your visa application before you courier or hand it to us

7. Courier or handle your visa application to visa enterprise and our dedicated staff will go through it to make sure you have obtained all the necessary Saudi visa requirements for your visa

8. If some of the documentation in the requirements need a stamp from the Canadian chamber of commerce, Ministry of Global Affairs Canada, certified Canadian translator and notary public then our staff will obtain that as soon as possible. In most cases it can be done in a couple of hours.

9. The file will be put through the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs online application system (INJAZ) then obtaining the E number (electronic number) for your application

10. Organize the file in the order that the embassy dictates for your type of visa and submit it to the embassy

11. Receive the Saudi embassy reply to your application within a few days and send it back to you whether you request that it be couriered back to your address or self-pick up from our office then you will be contacted for that. You will be notified with the courier service and the tracking number in order to track your package.

12. In case of the embassy requiring additional documentation or denying the application we will inform you right away about the Saudi consular section response to your application via email or by phone. We will work by your recommendation and proceed to the next step in such an event.

Important note:

• Saudi visa processing times have no specific duration. It is on a first come first serve basis. Sometimes the embassy receives high volume or in Pilgrimage high demand season such as Ramadan or Hajj time it may incur some delay. However, for now the regular time is about a week give or take. It can be done possibly quicker than that and Saudi consular section in Ottawa are doing their best to provide timely service and to accommodate truly urgent visas if possible.
• All Saudi visa applications contain ticket reservations as part of the Saudi visa requirements. Proof of purchase is not required only booking and reservation are required such as booking itinerary and not an actual ticket. Having your actual ticket earlier will not speed up the process.
• The visa requirement it can be modified from time to time. Visaenterprise implements the updated Saudi visa requirements as soon as they come into effect. Therefore, always consult with our Saudi visa section and the checklist on it.
• The Saudi visa is issued at the discretion of the Saudi Embassy/ Saudi consular section in Ottawa and they may ask for additional documents.
• Medical insurance policy: The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ottawa advised that the competent authority in KSA has implemented, since June 20, 2016, all applicants applying for a Saudi visit visa to KSA are required to purchase a medical insurance policy from a Saudi health insurance provider which is chosen by the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs and this transaction is part of the visa application. Even if you have a medical insurance that covers you overseas. This policy will affect applicants for Saudi visa travelling with the visa types Commercial visit visa, work visit visa and family visit visa. .