JEDDAH, 5 December 2006 — The Australian Embassy in Riyadh announced yesterday that tourist and business-travel visas issued to most citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states would be valid for multiple entries for up to two years.
From now on, most Gulf nationals can visit Australia “as often as they like over a two-year period with just one visa,” it said.
Axel Wabenhorst, an embassy spokesperson, said the visa extension is for tourism and business travel. The estimated 1,200 Saudi student visas expected to be issued next year fall under a different category.
“This extension in visa validity is in response to the large number of people from the Gulf that visit Australia regularly,” said the announcement, pointing out that 70 percent of the applications coming from GCC citizens are from visitors that are re-applying to re-enter the country. The move aims to reduce these repeat applications.
Saudis who wish to apply for an Australian visa, however, can only obtain it through the Australian Consulate General in Dubai. The embassy says that this shouldn’t cause any additional delay to the application process.
“Even if we opened up a visa section in Riyadh it will also take the same period of time applying for a visa through the Consulate General office in Dubai,” said Wabenhorst.
