TUNIS: A new smartphone app that makes it easy for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to apply for visas to enter Saudi Arabia is now available in Tunisia.
The Saudi Visa Bio app allows applicants to register their biometric data prior to travel and saves them having to visit a visa issuance centers. On arrival they have only to match their data with the information stored on the app, which speeds up the border control process.
The app was launched last year by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and is in line with the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer the best possible services and facilities for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia is the first country in the world to allow registration of biometrics via smartphones for the issuance of electronic visas.
A launch ceremony was held in Tunis in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Tunisia Abdulaziz Al-Sager, Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs Ibrahim Al-Chaibi and Director of Hajj and Umrah at the Tunisian Ministry of Religious Affairs Suad Al-Gharibi.
