Restrictions will continue until end of June 2025 and are likely to be relaxed after Hajj season


Riyadh: In a major announcement, Saudi Arabia has suspended the issuance of ‘Block Work Visa Quotas’ for citizens of 14 countries until June 2025.
The affected countries include Pakistan, India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, and others. This decision has been made with the aim of immigration control, preventing rush, and preventing illegal Hajj before the Hajj season.
A block work visa is a quota that Saudi companies can use to recruit workers from specific countries after getting pre-approved. After this ban, new applications will not be accepted, old applications may be delayed or rejected. People who received a visa but did not enter Saudi Arabia may face difficulty in entering.
Along with this, Saudi Arabia has also temporarily stopped Umrah, family visit, business, and tourist visas for several countries. These restrictions will continue until the end of June 2025 and are likely to be relaxed after the Hajj season.

Punjab: 28 killed, 90 injured in rains in past 24 hours, says rescuer official
- 13 hours ago

Netflix keeps Squid Game going with more of its reality show
- 4 hours ago

The lie at the heart of Trump’s entire economic agenda
- 2 hours ago

DOJ paves the way for a legal war on fact-checking
- 4 hours ago

Utility Stores to halt operations countrywide by July 31
- 12 hours ago

Musk makes grand promises about Grok 4 in the wake of a Nazi chatbot meltdown
- 4 hours ago

Will we ever know why Bryan Kohberger murdered the Idaho Four?
- 2 hours ago

Year 2 player spotlight: Maye, Harrison, Odunze among popular breakouts
- 3 hours ago

The smartphone-sized Boox Palma 2 is cheaper than ever for Prime Day
- 4 hours ago
Three killed, several wounded in passenger coach attack in Balochistan's Kalat district
- 14 hours ago

Bitcoin loses 3.6pc after hitting record-high level
- 12 hours ago

Buzz: Hansen impresses, Wemby returns and storylines to watch
- 3 hours ago