Fajarasia.co – The government of Saudi Arabia has banned its citizens from traveling to Indonesia. This was conveyed in an official announcement from the Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat) on Saturday (24/5).
However, as reported by the Saudi Gazette, not only Indonesia is included in the Saudi ‘red list’, but also 15 other countries. They are Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela.
The reason why the Saudi kingdom imposed the ban was because of the Covid-19 cases in the 16 countries. According to Gulf News, the ban also comes following a steady increase in the number of daily Covid-19 infections over the past few weeks.
There was no immediate announcement as to when the ban would be implemented. However, as of this writing, the decision does not have a significant impact on Indonesian citizens who wish to enter Saudi Arabia. This is no exception for Indonesian Muslims who want to perform Umrah and Hajj this year.
Even so, a number of conditions must still be met by pilgrims. This includes that pilgrims are required to have at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine with the vaccine recognized by the Saudi Ministry of Health. In addition, the age limit for prospective Hajj pilgrims is a maximum of 65 years old.
Then another rule that Jawazat announced recently was the matter of passports. Jawazat emphasized that the validity period of Saudi passports who wish to travel to non-Arab countries must be more than six months.
While Saudi citizens traveling to Arab countries, the validity period of the passport must be more than three months. Then, for Saudi citizens who travel to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the validity period of their ID cards must be more than three months.
Jawazat added that the soft copy of the national ID on the Absher and Tawakkalna applications is not enough for trips to GCC states.
Kartu identitas asli dan daftar keluarga juga wajib ditunjukkan di samping dokumen bukti tanggungan di dalam Kerajaan yang pemegangnya tidak dapat melakukan perjalanan ke negara-negara Teluk.
Mengenai persyaratan kesehatan orang Saudi yang bepergian ke luar Kerajaan, Jawazat menekankan sejumlah syarat. Di antaranya termasuk bahwa warga Saudi harus sudah menerima tiga dosis vaksin Covid-19 atau belum melewati masa tiga bulan setelah mengambil dosis kedua.
Namun, akan ada pengecualian untuk kelompok-kelompok tertentu, yakni karena alasan medis yang sesuai dengan status pada aplikasi Tawakkalna.
Then Saudi citizens who are under 16-12 years old and want to travel abroad, are required to receive at least two doses of the vaccine. As for residents under the age of 12, they are required to bring an insurance policy against Covid-19.
Indonesia actually experienced a decrease in cases
When Jawazat conveyed his new rules, Covid-19 cases in Indonesia were actually experiencing a decline.
Reporting from Worldometers, Indonesia on Saturday recorded an additional 263 cases, with 6 new deaths. On Sunday (22/5), additional daily cases decreased to 227, and 3 new deaths. As of Monday, the total number of cases in the country was 6,052,764, with additional cases reaching 127, and 12 new deaths.
In comparison, Saudi Arabia on Saturday recorded 411 new cases and 1 death. On Sunday, new cases were observed to rise to 467, and 2 new deaths. In total, as of Monday, the total infection cases in Saudi Arabia stood at 763,692, with 650 additional cases, and 1 new death.
Regarding the decline in cases in Indonesia, the government has also relaxed policies, such as removing the use of masks in open places.
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) will reportedly confirm the ban on Saudi citizens to Indonesia. At the same time, the spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, said that Indonesia had succeeded in reducing the number of Covid-19 transmissions in the country.***
