Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
KSA Visa Services: Saudi Business and Seafarer Routes
Saudi Arabia issues visas as visit, transit, work, Hajj and other categories. There is no single “business visa” product and no visa class called a seaman visa. Your route is set by how you arrive, what you will do in the Kingdom, and who there stands behind the visit. This page routes you to the right one.
Last updated 11 September 2026. Category names are taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs KSA Visa platform as retrieved on that date.
We are not an issuing authority
We prepare, check, submit, coordinate and follow up. Saudi visas are granted only by the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Own office inside the GCC
Damistan, Kingdom of Bahrain, and Business Bay, Dubai. Eastern Province cases are staffed directly rather than remotely.
Sourced, dated facts
Every category and figure across our KSA pages is attributed to a named authority with a retrieval date.
No outcome promises
Approval is the Kingdom’s decision. Where we assess a case as unlikely to succeed, we say so before you commit to a date.
Who this is for
Who do we handle KSA visas for?
Crewing managers and ship agents
Crew joining, signing off and coming ashore at Saudi ports, handled as whole crew lists across mixed nationalities.
Offshore and marine contractors
Rig crews, commissioning engineers, survey teams and shipyard personnel — the group most often placed in the wrong category.
Companies sending business travellers
HR and mobility managers, technical services contractors and SME directors visiting on a Saudi sponsor’s invitation.
Individual travellers and seafarers
Officers, ratings and business visitors arranging their own travel, including those already resident in Bahrain or the UAE.
Visa requirements
Which KSA visa route does my case need?
Match the movement and the scope of work, not the job title. Five cases cover most of what reaches us.
| Your case | Route | Full detail |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings, conferences, inspection, audit or commercial negotiation | Visit visa for the purpose of business, against a Saudi sponsor’s invitation | KSA business visa requirements, sponsor rules and timelines |
| Arriving on a vessel and coming ashore at a Saudi port | Sea transit route, through the vessel’s appointed ship agent | KSA seaman visa: which Saudi visa crew actually need |
| Flying in to join a vessel or an offshore unit | Assessed case by case — business visit or a work category, depending on the scope and the employer | KSA seaman visa: which Saudi visa crew actually need |
| Offshore, commissioning, shipyard or project work on a Saudi entity’s scope | A work visa category — seasonal, temporary or permanent | KSA seaman visa: which Saudi visa crew actually need |
| Already holding Saudi residency (Iqama) | Governed by your residency status, not by a new visit visa | Talk to the Bahrain office |
What Saudi Arabia actually issues
| Group | Published categories |
|---|---|
| Visit | Tourism · Family and friends · Medical · Umrah · Business |
| Transit | Land transit · Air transit · Sea transit |
| Work | Seasonal work · Temporary work · Permanent work |
| Hajj | Hajj visa |
| Other | Electronic Travel Authorization · Residency · Escort · Diplomatic · Special · Missions and organisations visit · Education · Transport of goods · Re-entry visa extension · Ratify applications |
Most commercial and maritime cases resolve to one of three: the business visit visa, the sea transit visa, or a work visa. Our two KSA pages cover those three in full.
Documents
What do you need to send us to start?
Enough to establish the route. The full checklist depends on the category, and we send it once the route is settled — there is no point collecting documents for a category that turns out not to apply.
For a business traveller
- Passport bio-page copy for each traveller
- Sponsor name and Commercial Registration details, if you have a sponsor
- Purpose of the visit and the dates
- Where each traveller is applying from
For crew
- Passport bio page and seaman’s book copy for each crew member
- Nationality and current location of each crew member
- Vessel name, IMO number and flag, or the offshore unit and operator
- Saudi port and the expected joining or sign-off window
- The appointed party in the Kingdom, if one is already named
Application process
How does a KSA case run with us?
Route assessment, in writing
We establish the movement, the scope and who in the Kingdom will stand behind it, then tell you which category applies. Category errors are not curable by adding documents later.
The Saudi party is briefed and their request checked
Ship agent for a port case, sponsoring company for a commercial visit, employer for an employment case. We tell them exactly what the Kingdom’s platform requires and check their request before it goes up.
File assembly, reconciliation and attestation
Names, titles, ranks, vessels and dates reconciled across every document, and attestation or legalisation arranged where required. This is the stage that prevents queries.
Submission and tracking to decision
Submitted through the correct channel and tracked. Per the KSA Visa platform, the business visit category is processed in “one (1) to two (2) working days” after the invitation letter, where applicable, and the application have been submitted. The preparation ahead of that step is what sets a real timeline.
Why Maritime Visas
What we do, and what the authority does
Maritime Visas is the maritime visa and crew mobility brand of Atomiq Consulting W.L.L, operating from Damistan in the Kingdom of Bahrain and Business Bay in Dubai. We are not an issuing authority.
| We do | The authority does |
|---|---|
| Establish which route applies before anything is submitted | Decide the category it will grant |
| Brief the sponsor, employer or ship agent and check their request | Receive and assess that request |
| Prepare, reconcile and attest the file | Accept or query the documents |
| Submit through the correct channel and track to decision | Grant, refuse or query |
| Tell you in advance where we assess a case as weak | Make the final decision, which is theirs alone |
Approval is the Kingdom’s decision in every case, and no provider can promise it. What we control is that the application reaches the authority in the condition it expects. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises applicants to contact it directly for the most current information and to avoid unauthorised individuals or companies; we agree, and the request and application both sit on the Kingdom’s own platform, visible to you.
See also: Saudi and GCC visa processing services · visa consultancy for complex and refused cases · Bahrain visit visas · seaman book and flag-registry document assistance · who you are contracting with.
Dipak Paudel
Maritime Documentation and Content Specialist, Maritime Visas — Atomiq Consulting W.L.L
Dipak Paudel is an experienced maritime documentation and content professional, working in the field since 2021 and specialising in seaman books, crew documentation, maritime compliance and visa-related documentation through SeamanBooks.com and Atomiq Consulting.
He develops practical, research-informed resources for seafarers, crew members and maritime professionals, covering flag-state documentation requirements, seaman book procedures, crew travel documentation and international maritime compliance.
Common problems
The three mistakes that cost the most time
1. Choosing the route after booking the travel
The category determines who applies, what the file needs and how long it takes. Settling it after flights are booked is how a crew change loses a week it did not have.
2. A file that disagrees with itself
A name transliterated two ways, a job title that differs between the invitation and the passport holder’s real role, or dates that do not match the itinerary. The single largest cause of queries.
3. Leaving attestation to the end
Legalisation of foreign company and educational documents has its own lead time in the country of issue and cannot be compressed once the clock is running.
FAQ
KSA visa — frequently asked questions
Is there a single KSA visa for business and crew?
No. Saudi Arabia issues visit, transit, work, Hajj and other categories. A business traveller and a seafarer joining a vessel are usually on different routes, initiated by different parties in the Kingdom.
Which is the fastest Saudi route?
The Kingdom publishes a decision window of one to two working days for the business visit category, measured after the invitation letter, where applicable, and the application have been submitted. The preparation ahead of that step is what sets a real timeline, and it varies by sponsor, nationality and the attestation the documents need.
Do I need a sponsor in Saudi Arabia?
For a business visit, in the ordinary case yes: a company or institution in the Kingdom raises the request and the Chamber of Commerce ratifies it electronically. For a port crew case, the vessel’s appointed ship agent plays the equivalent role. For employment, the Saudi employer does.
Is there a Saudi seaman visa?
Not as a named class. The Kingdom’s published categories contain no seaman or seafarer visa. Crew move under whichever category fits the movement — most often sea transit, a business visit, or a work visa. Our KSA seaman visa page sets out each route.
Can Maritime Visas guarantee a Saudi visa?
No, and no provider honestly can. The decision belongs to the Kingdom’s authorities. We prepare applications to the standard those authorities expect, and we tell you in advance where we assess a case as weak.
Next step
Tell us the case, and we will tell you the route
Send the passport copy, the nationality, the purpose and the dates. For crew, add the vessel name, the IMO number and the Saudi port. We confirm which route applies and what the file needs, usually the same working day.
Eligibility check
Check your KSA visa eligibility
No passport numbers, no ID numbers and no document uploads at this stage — we ask for those over a secure channel once we know which route your case needs.
