Is it possible to enter Saudi Arabia if you have Israeli stamps on the passport?

The answer is YES.
Many sources reports that entry in Saudi Arabia is denied for people with Israeli stamps on the passport…  and many people think that this is true.

So, I volunteered to be a guinea pig and I went there to check*

* it’s very cool to say that, but I didn’t volunteer and I was actually terrified 😉

Weeeel, what most people think, guess what, is wrong.

The Saudi embassy can’t refuse to issue a Visa for you if you have visited Israel before.
And once in Saudi is not true that your entry will be automatically denied…. no no no.

At least, this is my first hand experience 😉

But, to avoid any complication, when visiting Israel is always better to ask at the passport control to don’t put the stamp on the passport… they can stamp a separate paper instead!

Happy traveling 🙂

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Categorie: Life

Di Daniele

Hi, I’m Daniele! A human being from planet earth. I founded WP-OK.it and I like dancing Salsa, running, and living a location independent lifestyle.

8 commenti

  1. Can u elaborate some more about u entering KSA with israeli stamps in ur passport?
    Surely u didnt just hope on a plane there JUST 2 see wat happens?!
    Did the border control actually see the israeli stamps?
    Im confused, if on embassy/gov sites it says israelis nor foreigners with israeli stamps are allowed in then, how come u say the opposite?:S
    I have a british passport with israeli stamps opposite my ID page (so every1 can see)& jordanian border stamps smack in the middle (also always seen when my passport is opened). I want 2 go 2 KSA now to work for a year, apparently i dont qualify for a 2nd passport coz i wont be flying back & forth between KSA & Israel, so i was told by the UK passport agency to simply renew my already valid passport :S i’d like to avoid forking out £128 for a new passport, so how did u get away with it?
    I’m worried since im a single female perhaps they’ll be more firm & turn me away if they discover the stamps, or accuse me of being a Mossad spy!
    I found just 1 other article online of a muslim guy married to a palestinian & was allowed by the saudi embassy 2 enter with israeli stamps- so it makes me wonder about palestinians & israeli-arabs (who even have israeli passports) how they ever get to go to KSA?!

    1. Hi Sarah,
      I was on a business trip so YES, I jumped on a plane hoping that they would let me in the country…
      I’ve been one more time in KSA few months ago and once again no problem.
      I don’t think that the border control noticed the Israeli stamp, but I think that if that was a serious reason to don’t let people enter the country, they would (when entering in Israel, they check every single page and ask lots of questions, for example).

      Did you actually found an embassy/gov site stating that? Please send me the link.

      I could not find written anywhere officially if I could enter or not.
      And I’m not any official source either… but my experience was positive and I shared because I’m sure others have the same situation 🙂

      I hope it helps, any more info is welcome!

      1. Ciao Daniele!

        Thanks for the speedy reply.
        I found this blog which seems to have an upto date list of arab states which do/dont allow israeli passports or israeli stamps:
        https://igoogledisrael.com/2009/09/can-i-visit-arab-countries-with-an-israeli-visa-stamp-in-my-passport/

        And the uk gov site vaguely mentions this:
        http://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice-/saudi-arabia/entry-requirements

        I got an e-mail from a saudi consular officer at the British embassy in Riyadh who confirmed that I can’t enter with Israeli stamps in my passport & should also declare “other” as my religion on any visa forms O_o so perhaps u were just very lucky the saudis never saw ur israeli stamps?
        Unfortunately i wouldn’t be able to take that chance since i have 4 israeli stamps on the page next to my ID, so its unavoidable :/

        I know what u mean about “israeli interrogation” at the airport, i get it all the time despite being british israeli, probably coz i have a more mid-eastern look, coz i always see american jews pass thru no questions asked. & the questioning is just pointless & laughable.for example: whats ur grandmother’s name? What do jews do on the sabbath? How do u know hebrew?
        Yehhh…..way to go anti-terrorism! Lol

        1. Hi Sarah,
          Thanks for writing back!
          Interesting because when I was asking around, I could not get definitive YES or NO answers.
          Maybe I just got lucky but three times in a good record LOL.

          And about the questions asked when entering (or leaving) Israel, I know what you mean, they asked me with who I went to Morocco 4 years ago, like if they knew my friends… or do they?!

          1. Lol maybe they have mossad agents following u, so perhaps they do know ur friends 😛
            Their line of questioning is just so irrelevant & embarassing!then they wonder why they get such bad press in the media.i can only begin to imagine wat questioning must be like for palestinians at road checkpoints!!
            Perhaps u got lucky the 2nd & 3rd times coz the saudis noticed you’ve already been there so had no reason to check u out 😉

            Do u know people who have gone to KSA to teach?coz ive been in contact with 2 recruitment agencies (allegedly based in the UK & US),but the info they give just seems a bit fishy so i dont know if they’re scammers & cant find anything online about peoples’ experiences with them.
            1st of all, these agencies are not connected but the uk one sent me a pdf with the header from the US agency! In his email he said i have to pay £550 for a single entry visa & will get just $200 towards it (not sure why he used 2 different currencies here), then in a pdf he sent me it clearly says a singl entry visa costs £34 & a multi-entry visa £85! & if the saudis r supposedly paying my flights, a hefty salary, free accomodation & health insurance as well as a transport allowance, then y the hell cant they pay the visa cost which is the cheapest out of everything?!?:S
            Sounds a bit weird to me.
            Also the american agency was very vague about whether or not i’ll have any direct contact with the employer before arriving….i highly doubt saudis are THAT arrogant that they wont even make 1 courteous phone call before my arrival, or even want to know who the hell theyre employing.

            But i have no clue how to find reputable recruitment agencies for English teachers and none of my emails i’ve sent directly to employers have been answered.

            Any light u can shed on that?

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