New Visas Ease Uni Study for Students
Saudi Arabia is relaxing its rules for foreign students and introducing long and short-term educational visas.
According to a report in Arab News, the educational visas will target male and female students, researchers, and academics for higher (tertiary) education to raise the quality of the education and sector, presenting the Kingdom as an attractive educational destination.
Retaining international students transitioning from secondary schools has become a major focus of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates which has set its sights on becoming a university destination for international students - including those from Saudi Arabia.
The new Saudi scheme is divided into short-term visas for educational programs of up to a year and long-term visas for programs of more than a year. The scheme will serve students from 160 countries by registering data in nine languages, link applications with the relevant authorities, and facilitate the procedures for enrolling universities in the Kingdom.
The holders of long and short-term educational visas are exempt from the statutory requirement related to providing a sponsor in the Kingdom.
