Visa guide
Step-by-step instructions for UK citizens applying for the Saudi ETA for Umrah and tourism — just $25, approved by email in minutes.
Eligibility
British citizens holding a full UK passport
Cost
$25 USD (around £20)
Processing
Issued by email in 3–5 minutes
Validity
1 year, multiple entries, up to 180 days per stay
Allowed
Tourism, visiting family and Umrah
Not allowed
Hajj cannot be performed on an ETA
Most rejected applications come down to the same handful of details — the wrong passport type, a PDF upload, or a photo that will not pass. Five minutes here saves an afternoon of retries.
The ETA is for British citizens holding a full UK passport. If you hold a UK residence permit or a non-British passport, you need the standard tourist e-Visa or an Umrah visa instead — not the ETA.
Upload the passport photo page as a JPG or PNG. PDFs are rejected by the portal. If a phone camera photo will not upload, resize it to roughly 1500 × 1000 pixels and try again.
A standard passport-style headshot (35mm × 45mm ratio) on a plain white background, under 5 MB. If the system rejects it, re-export a clean, compressed PNG or JPG using Canva or a background remover.
Unlike the £100+ standard tourist visa, the ETA does not include health cover. Medical treatment and ambulances in Saudi Arabia are expensive for visitors, so buy standalone travel health insurance before you fly.
Pay the $25 USD fee with a multi-currency card such as Revolut or Monzo to avoid your bank's foreign exchange surcharges.
The screens shown above are simplified illustrations of the application flow, not official screenshots, and the portal is updated from time to time. Simple Umrah is not affiliated with the Saudi government and does not charge for the ETA — always apply on the official site and check the current requirements before you travel.
Yes. British passport holders can perform Umrah on an Electronic Travel Authorisation. The application form itself asks whether you intend to perform Umrah — select Yes.
No. Hajj cannot be performed on an ETA. Hajj requires a dedicated Hajj visa arranged through an approved operator.
The fee is $25 USD, roughly £20. Using a multi-currency card such as Revolut or Monzo avoids bank foreign exchange charges.
Most applications are approved and emailed as a PDF within 3 to 5 minutes of payment.
One year of multiple entries, with stays of up to 180 days, counted from the expected arrival date you entered on the form.
No. Unlike the standard tourist visa, the ETA does not include health cover, so you must buy separate travel and medical insurance before you travel.
No. The ETA is only for full British passport holders. You would apply for the standard tourist e-Visa or an Umrah visa instead — we can arrange the correct visa for your nationality.
We obtain visas for different nationalities and include the correct visa in your package price. Send us a message and we will tell you exactly what you need.
