Saudis make more than 1,000 requests for entry visas to Britain every day, especially during summer, local business daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported Thursday. It was quoting charge d'affaires of the British Embassy in Riyadh Roddy Drummond.
"This has put a lot of pressure on the embassy, which has to increase its visa processing staff to be able to cope with the increasing demand for entry visas and has subsequently led to a delay in visa issuance," he said. Drummond said the annual average requests of visas to Britain by Saudi citizens was well over 100,000. "Most of these visas were for multiple entry and long stay, with Riyadh topping the Kingdom's cities in visa requests," he added.
Drummond made the statements while opening an exhibition titled "To and from Britain" in Alkhobar in the Eastern Province on Wednesday. The exhibition, which will continue for a month, includes 22 paintings, seven pictures and four monuments depicting tourist spots in Britain. The charge d'affaires said more than 22,000 Saudi men and women students were currently studying at various universities and colleges in Britain.
He revealed that there were more than 1,000 British companies in Saudi Arabia involved in various activities including water and electricity. "There are 250 British companies working in joint projects with a number of Saudi development firms in addition to other British companies working under specific contracts.
Rush for visas to visit UK
