What you need to enter Saudi Arabia with a Cuban passport
Cuban citizens need an electronic visa for Saudi Arabia, applied for online before the trip.
- e-Visa fee
- 535 SAR
- Minimum passport validity
- 6 months from entry
Why is this passport validity required? →
Last verified: 18 September 2026
How this visa is processed
The competent Saudi embassy or consulate, unless one of the conditions granting access to the eVisa is met
Saudi Arabia opened its tourist eVisa to a closed list of 66 nationalities and Cuba is not on it, so a Cuban passport alone does not open the electronic route. The particularity of the Saudi system is that eligibility does not rest on nationality alone: the official portal also admits holders of a tourist or business visa from the United States, the United Kingdom or the Schengen area, permanent residents of the United States, the European Union or the United Kingdom, and residents of a Gulf Cooperation Council country. A Cuban who fits any of those can apply for the eVisa or the visa on arrival without going through a consulate. One condition is easy to miss: the visa relied on must have been used at least once, with an entry stamp from the issuing country, so a Schengen visa that was granted but never used does not count. Anyone meeting none of those conditions applies for the ordinary visa at the competent Saudi mission.
Official application site →Application details verified on 18 September 2026. Sources: visitsaudi.com and its help portal help.visitsaudi.com, the official Saudi eVisa sites ("Who is eligible for a visit visa?" and "Can I get a visit visa if I have a valid US or UK or Schengen visa?": the list of 66 eligible nationalities, admission of holders of a tourist or business visa from the US, the UK or Schengen, of permanent residents of the US, the EU or the UK, and of Gulf Cooperation Council residents, with the requirement that the visa has been used at least once and carries an entry stamp from the issuing country), and ksavisa.sa. The portals load their content through JavaScript and could not be downloaded directly: the text was recovered from the official domains themselves through the search engine. Checked 18 September 2026.
Verified practical details
The visa is applied for before your trip, and the procedure is e-Visa (Saudi eVisa). Here are the verified details:
Authorisation system
e-Visa (Saudi eVisa)
Open to the nationalities on Visit Saudi's official list. Valid for 365 days from issue, with multiple entries and a maximum of 90 days' stay in total. You apply online, without going through a consulate.
Apply on the official site →Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorisation? What's the difference →
Fee
535 SAR
Total cost of the tourist eVisa according to Visit Saudi, the Saudi Tourism Authority's official website. It includes the mandatory health insurance for the stay.
Processing time
According to Visit Saudi, in most cases the eVisa is issued within 5 to 30 minutes.
Required documents
- Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the planned entry date.
- Recent digital passport-style photo.
- Valid email address to receive the visa.
- Only if you are travelling as a pilgrim (Hajj or Umrah): meningococcal ACWY vaccination certificate (see vacunas_requeridas).
Transit rules
Saudi Arabia has a transit visa for layovers of up to 96 hours, costing SAR 300 and valid for 96 hours from issue; you can pick flights with a connection up to that maximum. It is single-entry (stopping over again means another visa), though there is no limit on how many you may obtain in a year. Requirements: being over 18 unless accompanied by an adult, and a recognised passport, free of restrictions or conditions, valid for at least six months. It is open to the nationalities listed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal, and some cases call for additional verification documents.
More Saudi Arabia rules
They don't depend on your passport, so they are on the Saudi Arabia page:
Official portal: https://visa.visitsaudi.com. Destination data verified on 10 August 2026. Sources: sanidad.gob.es (Spain's Ministry of Health, "Listado de países: requisitos y recomendaciones de vacunación contra la fiebre amarilla") and who.int (WHO, "Country list: yellow fever vaccination requirements and recommendations"): yellow fever requirement (checked 20 September 2026); visa.visitsaudi.com and visitsaudi.com (Saudi Tourism Authority): documents required, the eVisa's SAR 535 cost with health insurance included, and issuing time; gov.uk (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, "Saudi Arabia travel advice"): the eVisa's 365-day validity, multiple entries and 90-day stay, passport validity, meningococcal vaccine for pilgrims, and the alcohol ban and penalties; moh.gov.sa (Saudi Ministry of Health, "Health Requirements and Recommendations for Travelers to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, 1447H (2026)") and wwwnc.cdc.gov (US CDC, Saudi Arabia destination page): meningococcal ACWY vaccine; zatca.gov.sa (Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the "Declaration" and "Personal Quantities of Tobacco Products" pages and the FAQ on shisha tobacco, 2026 web.archive.org copies): cash declaration and tobacco limits; my.gov.sa (Saudi government national portal, transit visa), moi.gov.sa (Ministry of Interior, overstay penalties) and ksavisa.sa (official visa platform: passport validity and how refusal works) (checked 29 September 2026).
This pair in context
In the other direction, citizens of Saudi Arabia need an electronic visa to enter Cuba. See the Saudi Arabia → Cuba page.
All 13 passports from the Caribbean that VisaRadar tracks need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival to enter Saudi Arabia. Same result as Cuba: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic and Grenada.
With a passport from Cuba, in the rest of Western Asia you can enter Qatar visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Oman, Palestine, Syria and United Arab Emirates; you need a visa for Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Yemen.
A passport from Cuba ranks 151 of 199 in the VisaRadar passport ranking and reaches 52 of 198 destinations without applying for a visa in advance.
Counts from the same requirements matrix behind this page's verdict, using the UN M49 subregions.
Frequently asked questions
Do Cuban citizens need a visa for Saudi Arabia?
Yes, but it's processed online before you travel (e-visa), no consulate visit required.
How long does it take to get the entry permit?
According to Visit Saudi, in most cases the eVisa is issued within 5 to 30 minutes.
What minimum passport validity is required?
Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the planned entry date.
What currency is used in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Riyal (SAR).
Can a Cuban apply for the Saudi eVisa?
Not on nationality: Cuba is not among the 66 on the list. You can if you hold a tourist or business visa from the US, the UK or Schengen, permanent residence in the US, the EU or the UK, or residence in a Gulf country.
I have a Schengen visa but have not travelled on it yet. Does it count?
No. The visa you rely on must have been used at least once and carry the entry stamp of the country that issued it.
If I meet none of those conditions, what do I do?
Apply for the ordinary visa at the competent Saudi embassy or consulate, through the classic consular route.
What do Cuban passport holders need for the countries near Saudi Arabia?
With a passport from Cuba, in the rest of Western Asia you can enter Qatar visa-free; you need a prior authorisation or a visa on arrival for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Oman, Palestine, Syria and United Arab Emirates; you need a visa for Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and Yemen.
Related pages
See Saudi Arabia requirements for other passports →
Informational only. Always verify requirements with the official embassy or consulate before you travel.