Family Visit Visa Saudi Arabia 2026: Fees & Steps

A family visit visa to Saudi Arabia lets an expatriate with a work iqama invite their parents, wife or children for a visit of up to 90 days, which the host can then extend on Absher. This guide is for residents and the HR teams who help them. It covers who qualifies, the documents and the Arabic application form, each step on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) visa platform, chamber or employer certification, fees, insurance, processing time, status checks, printing and length of stay. We checked every point against MOFA, my.gov.sa, Jawazat and MOFA’s KSA Visa platform as of October 2026, including the fee, which official pages show differently.

Family visit visa in brief

Who applies: a resident with a valid work iqama, not a dependent iqama. Residents use “Family Visit Visa Application for Residents” on the MOFA visa platform and log in with Nafath.
Who can visit: first-degree relatives, which MOFA lists as parents, wife and children. Visitors under 18 must travel with a legal guardian.
The form is filled in Arabic. Names of non-Arab visitors must match their passports exactly.
The application must be certified electronically by the employer’s chamber of commerce or by the employer.
Visa fee: SAR 300 (USD 80) on the current official listings, plus mandatory medical insurance and small service fees. An older SAR 200 figure still circulates.
Processing: MOFA gives 3 working days and my.gov.sa gives 5, plus time for certification and the embassy stage.
Stay: up to 90 days per entry. An extension on Absher costs SAR 100, and Jawazat sets 180 days as the maximum.

Family visit visa or permanent family visa: which one do you need?

People often confuse the two. A family visit visa brings relatives for a temporary stay. A permanent family visa is a residence visa that brings your immediate family to live with you on dependent iqamas. The official pages offer no route to convert a visit visa into an iqama, so choose the right one from the start.

Point	Family visit visa	Permanent family visa
Purpose	A temporary visit	Relatives live with you in Saudi Arabia
Who can come	First-degree relatives: parents, wife, children	Immediate family (usually wife and children)
Length	Up to 90 days per entry, extendable on Absher	As long as the sponsor’s iqama is valid
Status in Saudi Arabia	Visitor with a border number	Dependent iqama, with the monthly dependent fee
Where to apply	MOFA visa platform, family visit service	A separate residence visa application (listed as “Residency” on KSA Visa)

Family members who already live with you on dependent iqamas do not need a visit visa. When they travel and come back, they use an exit re-entry visa.

Who can apply for a family visit visa in Saudi Arabia?

Conditions for the resident applying

A valid iqama. MOFA requires valid residency, so renew first if yours is about to expire.
A work iqama, not a dependent one. MOFA states that a resident applicant must hold a work iqama, not a companion (dependent) iqama. A wife with her own work iqama can apply in her own name.
A Nafath account. Citizens and residents log in to the visa platform only through the National Single Sign-On (Nafath).
An employer who will certify the request, either through its chamber of commerce or directly on the platform (see below).

Saudi citizens use a separate service, “Family Visit Visa Application for Citizens”, on the same platform.

Which relatives can visit?

MOFA’s service pages limit the family visit to first-degree relatives and name them as parents, wife and children. A working woman inviting her husband should check that the relationship appears in the form’s list. Some websites say siblings, in-laws or grandparents also qualify, but we found no official page confirming this for residents as of October 2026, so treat the form’s relationship list as the final word.

my.gov.sa adds two conditions for visitors: anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian, and every passport needs at least six months of validity.

Family visit visa requirements: documents and the Arabic form

Prepare these before you open the form. The national portal lists:

The visitor’s passport, valid for at least six months.
A recent personal photo with a white background.
Medical insurance valid for the whole stay.
Proof of relationship, such as a family registry, the children’s birth certificates or an attested marriage certificate.
The approved visit document (invitation) issued by MOFA, which the visitor needs at the embassy or visa-centre stage.

On your side, you need your iqama number, the Nafath app on your phone, your employer’s details and HR’s agreement to certify the request.

Filling in the Arabic form correctly

MOFA’s rule is that all data are entered in Arabic, except the names of visitors who are not Arab nationals, which must match their passports. Most returned requests start here, so:

Copy names, nationality, passport numbers and dates from the passport’s photo page, letter by letter and in the same order.
For Arab nationals, write the Arabic name exactly as it is printed in the passport.
Keep your own details consistent with your iqama, including your name, profession and employer.
Have every visitor’s passport details at hand before you start. The platform itself warns about this when you log in.

How to apply for a family visit visa on the MOFA platform, step by step

MOFA is moving its visa services to a new platform, KSA Visa (ksavisa.sa), and its service page already links there. The resident family visit service was still available on visa.mofa.gov.sa in October 2026. The steps below follow MOFA’s own description, and the order stays the same if the screens change.

Open visa.mofa.gov.sa, choose Services for Citizens and Residents, then the Resident tab, then Family Visit Visa Application for Residents, and click Apply.
Log in as an individual with Nafath and approve the number shown in the Nafath app.
Enter your personal details and your employer’s details.
Click Add for each visitor, enter their details exactly as in the passport and choose the relationship.
Upload the documents the form asks for: passport, photo, insurance and proof of relationship.
Read and accept the undertaking, review every field, then save and submit. Write down the application number and print the application.
Have it certified by your employer’s chamber of commerce or by your employer (next section).
Wait for MOFA’s approval. Once approved, a visa number is issued. Print the approval and send it to the visitor.
The visitor completes the visa with the Saudi embassy, consulate or visa centre in their country and pays the fees due at that stage.
Print the visa and travel within its validity.

Getting the application certified by the chamber of commerce or employer

MOFA requires the application to be stamped and authenticated electronically by the chamber of commerce or by the employer. The request does not reach MOFA’s review until this is done. There are two routes:

Chamber route: the employer submits your application number on its chamber’s e-services portal. The company needs an active commercial registration and active chamber membership. Jeddah Chamber, for example, charges SAR 35 to activate a MOFA visa application. Other chambers set their own fees.
Direct employer route: chambers of commerce, major companies and government entities can ratify requests on MOFA’s platform themselves. A Saudi citizen who employs you personally uses the “Ratify individuals applications” service.

In practice, ask HR which route your company uses before you submit, then send them the application number and the printout. A lapsed chamber membership can leave a request stuck at this stage. For how chamber e-attestation works in general, see our guide to chamber of commerce attestation in Saudi Arabia.

Family visit visa fees in 2026

Official pages disagree on the fee. Here is what each one showed when we checked in October 2026:

my.gov.sa (Family visit visa, updated May 2026): service cost 300.
KSA Visa, MOFA’s new platform (Family and Friends visit visa): a visa fee of USD 80, which is SAR 300 at the fixed rate of 3.75, marked refundable, plus two non-refundable digital service fees and insurance (see the table).
MOFA’s Family Visit Request page: the cost field is empty.
SAR 200: this figure, which some guides attribute to MOFA, comes from an older listing. We could not find it on any live official page.
SAR 2,000: Jawazat’s fee table still shows this for a single-entry visa. It is an old figure and does not match what MOFA’s platforms list today.

Our reading is that the visa fee is SAR 300. What you are actually charged is the amount on the official payment screen, so confirm it on the day and pay only through the official platform or the embassy or visa centre.

Cost item	Amount (October 2026)	Notes
Visa fee	SAR 300 (USD 80)	my.gov.sa and KSA Visa. Confirm on the payment screen.
KSA Visa digital service fees	USD 10.5 + USD 10.5	Visa and insurance service fees, non-refundable
Medical insurance	Set by the insurer	Must cover the whole stay
Chamber certification	Set by each chamber	Jeddah Chamber: SAR 35. Not needed if your employer ratifies on the platform.
Embassy or visa-centre charges	Vary by country	Paid in the visitor’s country
Extension on Absher	SAR 100	Per extension, plus insurance for the extra period

Medical insurance for family visitors

Health insurance is mandatory. my.gov.sa lists medical insurance valid for the whole stay among the required documents, and KSA Visa prices it by the provider you select. Buy it through the official flow and check that the dates cover the full visit. Absher will later accept an extension only if the insurance also covers the extra period, so arrange that cover before the last day.

How long does a family visit visa take?

MOFA’s service page gives 3 working days for its decision and warns that exceptional cases can take longer. my.gov.sa lists 5 working days, and KSA Visa gives one minute to 3 business days for the visa itself. Add the certification step and the embassy or visa-centre stage in the visitor’s country, and start well before the planned travel date.

Open passport with visa stamps, the document every visitor needs for a family visit visa — MOFA requires non-Arab visitors' names to match their passports exactly, so copy them from the passport's photo page.

How to check family visit visa status and print the visa

MOFA visa platform: on the visa.mofa.gov.sa home page, use Inquiry for applied requests. Choose the search type (application number, visa document number or visa application number), enter the number and your iqama number, then the captcha.
KSA Visa: Track Application on ksavisa.sa accepts the application or visa number together with the visitor’s passport number or the inviter’s iqama number.
Your account: after logging in with Nafath, your submitted request appears in your account and can be printed.
Printing the visa: on visa.mofa.gov.sa, open Services for Visitors, then Print Visa. Pick two identifiers (visa number, passport number, application number or first name) and the visitor’s nationality. Keep a printout or PDF for the airline and the airport.

If the status has not moved after the stated processing time, first check that the chamber or your employer actually certified the request. That step is the one most often forgotten.

How long can family visitors stay, and how do you extend on Absher?

KSA Visa lists two options for family and friends visits. A single-entry visa is valid for 90 days with a 90-day stay. A multiple-entry visa is valid for one year, with a stay of 90 days. Royal Decree M/49 of November 2022 set the stay on a single-entry visit visa at three months. Since 2025, press reports have said that some nationalities are offered single entry only. We found no official statement on this, so go by what the platform offers your visitor.

Extending the visit on Absher

The host extends the visit from their own Absher account under Family Members Services, then Services, then Extension of visit visa. The fee is SAR 100, according to both Jawazat’s fee table and my.gov.sa. Absher accepts the request only when:

the visa has 7 days or less left, or expired no more than 3 days ago (the expiry day counts);
the visitor is inside Saudi Arabia and the passport is valid;
the visitor has no unpaid traffic violations;
the medical insurance covers the extension period;
the extension fee is paid.

Both single-entry and multiple-entry visit visas can be extended. Jawazat’s FAQ sets 180 days as the maximum for a visit extended through Absher, with exceptions only for Yemeni and Syrian nationals. Overstaying is costly: in May 2026 the Ministry of Interior said that a foreigner who stays after an entry visa expires faces a fine of up to SAR 50,000, up to six months in prison and deportation. For the details and the late-extension cases, see our Arabic guide to extending a family visit on Absher.

Common reasons a family visit application is rejected or delayed

The applicant holds a dependent iqama, or the iqama has expired.
The relative is not first-degree.
Names, passport numbers or dates do not match the passport, or Arabic fields were filled in English.
The request was never certified, because the employer’s chamber membership or commercial registration has lapsed or HR did not ratify it.
The visitor’s passport has less than six months of validity.
A visitor under 18 is travelling without a legal guardian.
The insurance is missing or does not cover the whole stay.
The wrong service was used, such as the citizens’ form or a personal visit request.
The extension was left too late. More than 3 days after expiry, Absher no longer accepts it.

How Moaqeb can help with a family visit visa

We work remotely on the preparation that usually goes wrong. We check that your iqama type and the relatives you want to invite qualify, build the document checklist, prepare the Arabic entries and the name spellings from the passports, and draft a short note for HR so the chamber or employer certification is not forgotten. We then guide you through the MOFA platform step by step, follow up the request until the visa is issued, and remind you when the Absher extension window opens. You log in with Nafath, sign and pay yourself, and we never ask for passwords or verification codes. See the visa and iqama help we offer, or ask us to follow up a pending or returned application.

Official sources

We checked this guide in October 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm the details on the official platforms before you pay or travel:

Frequently asked questions

How much is the family visit visa fee in Saudi Arabia?

Current official listings show SAR 300, or USD 80 on MOFA’s KSA Visa platform. Insurance, small digital service fees and any chamber fee are extra. An older SAR 200 figure still circulates, so confirm the amount on the payment screen.

Who can I invite on a family visit visa?

First-degree relatives, which MOFA lists as parents, wife and children. Visitors under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian, and each passport needs at least six months of validity.

Can I apply for a family visit visa on a dependent iqama?

No. MOFA requires a resident applicant to hold a valid work iqama, not a dependent (companion) iqama.

How long does the family visit visa take?

MOFA lists 3 working days for its decision and my.gov.sa lists 5. Certification by the chamber or employer and the embassy or visa-centre stage add more time.

How do I check my family visit visa status?

Use Inquiry for applied requests on visa.mofa.gov.sa with your application number and iqama number, or Track Application on ksavisa.sa with the application or visa number and the visitor’s passport number or your iqama number.

How many days can family visitors stay in Saudi Arabia?

Up to 90 days per entry. The host can extend on Absher for SAR 100 per extension, and Jawazat sets 180 days as the maximum for a visit extended through Absher.

Can a family visit visa be converted to an iqama?

The official pages offer no conversion route. For relatives to live with you, apply separately for a permanent family (residence) visa.

Can my visiting relatives perform Umrah?

Yes. MOFA’s KSA Visa platform says Umrah is permitted on this visa, but Hajj is not.

Family Visit Visa Saudi Arabia 2026: Who Can Apply, Documents, Fees, Status and Extension