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Saudi Arabia has restricted Nigeria and 13 other countries to single-entry visas, limited to 30 days.
The changes apply to tourists, business travellers, and those visiting family members but exclude applicants for Hajj, Umrah, diplomatic, or residency visas.
Beyond Nigeria, the affected nations are Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Explaining the rationale for the new regulations, Saudi Arabia cited the misuse of multiple-entry visas as a key reason for the policy shift.
It further noted that some travellers used long-term visas to stay in the country illegally or participate in Hajj without proper authorisation.
The Saudi government regulates Hajj attendance through a fixed quota per country, and unauthorised pilgrims have contributed to overcrowding.
Officials described the suspension of multiple-entry visas as a temporary measure but have not provided a specific timeline for its review.
The development comes ahead of the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.
In 2024, over 1,200 pilgrims lost their lives due to extreme heat and congestion, a crisis authorities believe was exacerbated by unregistered attendees.
In other news, The Saudi Arabian government has released three Nigerian women who were arrested for possession of cocaine.
The development was disclosed in a statement by the spokesman of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, on Sunday in Abuja.
Ebienfa said the release of the women followed high-level diplomatic engagements between the Nigerian government and Saudi authorities.
He listed the released Nigerian women as Hadiza Abba, Fatima Malah and Fatima Gamboi. They were arrested for alleged possession of substance suspected to be cocaine while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The Nigerians were apprehended on March 5, 2024 at Prince Mohammad bin Abdul Azeez International Airport, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and released after spending 10 months in detention.
