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How to get visa
Who requires a Visa?
This conference has been approved at the highest level within the Kingdom and delegates can be assured that they will be made most welcome. Nevertheless all conference attendees will need to obtain a visa to enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, except those from GCC (Gulf Cooperative Council) Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Emirates). Visas should be applied for well in advance – at least one month. The conference organisers will gladly provide further advice to assist attendees in obtaining their visa.
How do I get a Visa?
Delegates interested to attend the conference should register as soon as possible, providing all the necessary details, including full name, affiliation, and passport details. The conference organisers will then apply to the relevant Ministry for approval for a visa to be issued. This approval, which normally takes 3 – 6 weeks to be issued, will then be sent to each delegate by email.
On receipt of this visa approval, you should send or take your passport to the nearest Saudi Consulate, together with a completed visa application form, a copy of the approval, two passport type photographs, the visa fee and a letter from your employers (or yourself if self-employed). This letter should confirm a) the purpose of your visit, b) the period of the visit, c) your employment by and position within the organisation, d) your home address, and e) that your employer is willing to take responsibility for ensuring that you have travel and medical insurance, and also f) return travel tickets. Where asked about visa type you should request a “single-entry business visa”. Once the application is submitted to the consulate the visa itself is then normally issued in 3 working days.
Especially if you do not live in the city where the consulate is located we recommend using a travel management agent who will deliver your passport to the consulate by hand and make sure that it is returned. Suitable travel management or visa agents can normally be identified by search on the internet.
For the addresses ofSaudi consulates see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_Saudi_Arabia.
Dress code for Men and Women
The dress code for the Conference is business casual (i.e. slacks, casual shirt, smart trousers) or business attire (i.e. neckties, business suits). Men should not wear shorts (except at a private beach or swimming pool), nor go without a shirt anywhere in public.
Women should wear comparable casual / business clothing, but in consideration of traditional Saudi dress code their clothes should please be conservative and decent, with a high neck and long sleeves and skirts (or trousers). In addition, outside of their hotel or the conference rooms, women delegates are advised to wear a dark coloured, light weight, full-length cloak (or abaya) covering their clothes and a have with them a scarf (or hijab) in case they are asked to cover their head. Women delegates will find that in many countries an abaya and hijab can be bought at reasonable cost over the internet. If available the abaya is normally put on over ones normal clothes shortly before landing at the airport. Alternatively a basic abaya can, if requested in advance, be obtained on arrival in Jeddah.
Both men and women guests will find that appreciation of local custom as regards clothing and behaviour will greatly increase their enjoyment of their visit.
How to reach Jeddah
Jeddah (JED) is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), which is one of the busiest in the Middle East and less than an hour’s drive (about 20 km) from the city centre. There are regular direct flights to Jeddah from London (British Airways), Frankfurt (Lufthansa) and also Washington, Toronto, Geneva and Rome (Saudia), as well as from most major cities in the Middle East and South Asia.
The conference organisers will arrange for a representative and car or people carrier to meet all delegates arriving on the principle international flights on the day before the start of the conference or on the morning of the start of the conference itself. Delegates who wish to be assisted in this way at the air[port should please email the conference secretariat with the details of their arrival.
For more airport information see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdulaziz_International_Airport
How to pay the registration fee
Payment of registration fees should please be made by bank transfer (arranged eithe Online or by visiting your bank) to the conference bank account. We regret that we can not handle payment by Cheque or byBank Drafts.
Further Queries
If you have problems with online registration or paying the fee or would like us to answer other queries please email the conference secretariat at: mar.icmers@kau.edu.sa.
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