Saudi Family Visit Visa Insurance Fee: How Much Is It?

Full fee breakdown for a family visit visa

A Saudi family visit visa is never a single payment. It’s a stack of small government and insurance charges that all get collected in one transaction on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) portal. Here’s what that stack actually looks like, based on the current published fee schedule^[1]:

The visa fee and the insurance premium are the two charges that show up on every application, regardless of who’s sponsoring the visit. The Chamber of Commerce fee only applies when the sponsor is a private-sector employer processing the request through Enjazit rather than through a personal MOFA account, and the Tasheer fee only applies when an in-person authentication appointment is required.

Add it up for a typical case — personal sponsor, no Tasheer appointment, mid-range insurer — and a single visitor’s total lands around 400 to 470 SAR ($107 to $125), with the insurance line item making up roughly a tenth to a third of that.

Insurance cost by provider

The insurance premium isn’t a flat government rate. It’s set by whichever CCHI-licensed insurer the sponsor picks at checkout, which is why two families applying on the same day can pay very different amounts for what looks like the same visa. Published pricing across the approved insurers looks like this^[1]:

The spread here is real, not a typo. Arabian Shield’s visitor policy costs a fraction of what Gulf General or Bupa Arabia charge for what is, on paper, the same mandatory coverage. Cheaper policies generally come from smaller cooperative insurers with thinner networks; the pricier ones tend to belong to insurers with broader hospital networks and faster claims processing inside the Kingdom. Sponsors comparing options should check which hospitals a policy is actually accepted at before assuming the cheapest listing is the best deal.

What actually changes the price

Three things move the number more than anything else:

• Which insurer is selected at checkout. As the table above shows, this alone can swing the premium by close to 400 SAR.
• Visa validity period. A three-month single-entry visa is priced for a shorter risk window than a one-year multiple-entry visa, so the multiple-entry premium sits higher within each insurer’s own pricing tier.
• The visitor’s age. Older applicants, particularly those over 60, are quoted higher premiums by most insurers because emergency medical claims are statistically more likely in that age bracket.

Nationality and country of departure don’t factor into the CCHI-regulated premium the way they do for some other visa types — the price differences come from the insurer and the policy terms, not from where the visitor is flying in from.

Insurance fee vs. the visa fee: they’re not the same charge

It’s easy to conflate “the visa cost” with “the insurance cost” because they’re paid in the same checkout flow. They’re not the same line item, and they don’t move together. The visa fee (300 SAR, plus the 37.5 SAR processing charge and 1.5 SAR banking charge) is a fixed government charge that doesn’t change based on which insurer a sponsor picks. The insurance premium is the variable piece, set independently by each CCHI-approved company.

This distinction matters when a sponsor is trying to figure out why one relative’s total came to 420 SAR and another’s came to 650 SAR for what looks like an identical visa. The visa portion of both applications was identical. The difference sat entirely in which insurer was selected and what validity period the policy covered. For a closer look at how these two charges interact across the wider eVisa system, see our guide to Saudi eVisa insurance cost, coverage, and requirements for 2026.

Where and how the fee is paid

Sponsors don’t buy the insurance separately from a third-party website before starting the visa application. The purchase happens inside the same flow:

1. The sponsor logs into the MOFA visa platform (visa.mofa.gov.sa) or, for employer-sponsored cases, the Enjazit system.
2. The family visit visa application is submitted with the relative’s passport and personal details.
3. Once the application is approved and converted into an actual visa, the portal presents the visa fee and a list of CCHI-approved insurers with their current premiums.
4. The sponsor selects an insurer, and the visa fee plus the insurance premium plus the service charges are paid together in one card transaction.

The insurance and visa fees only become payable after the visit application itself is approved, not at the moment of submission^[2]. Sponsors who pay before approval are, in most cases, paying for a different service step entirely, such as the Tasheer appointment.

Once a policy is issued, the visitor’s insurance status can be checked independently through the Council of Health Insurance’s online verification page using the visitor’s passport number, which is useful for confirming a policy is active before travel.

What the premium actually buys

Regardless of which insurer is selected, Saudi visitor health insurance is regulated by the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI), and coverage is capped at SAR 100,000 per visitor for the duration of the visa^[3]. That ceiling covers emergency treatment, hospitalization, diagnostic tests, medication tied to covered treatment, pregnancy and emergency childbirth, emergency dental cases, emergency dialysis, and medical evacuation inside and outside the Kingdom when medically necessary^[3][4].

It’s worth being clear about what this policy is not. It’s an emergency-care policy, not a comprehensive health plan. Routine outpatient visits, pre-existing chronic conditions, elective procedures, and non-emergency dental work generally fall outside what the mandatory visitor policy pays for. Sponsors bringing in a relative with an ongoing health condition should ask the insurer directly whether that condition is covered before assuming the SAR 100,000 cap applies to it. For the broader question of whether this coverage is legally required for every entry type, see our explainer on whether travel insurance is mandatory for Saudi Arabia.

Multiple-entry visas and extensions

Saudi Arabia currently issues family visit visas as either a three-month single-entry visa or a one-year multiple-entry visa, with each entry permitting a stay of up to 90 days. The insurance premium for the multiple-entry version is priced to match the longer coverage window, which is one reason the multiple-entry option costs noticeably more upfront even before the visa fee is added in.

Extending a visit visa that’s already in the country triggers its own fee, separate from the original application: a 100 SAR government extension charge plus a fresh insurance premium of 23 to 413 SAR, again depending on the insurer selected at the time of extension^[1]. The extension insurance isn’t a top-up of the original policy; it’s effectively a new policy period, priced the same way the initial one was.

Mistakes that cost sponsors extra money

• Defaulting to whichever insurer is listed first at checkout. The portal doesn’t sort by price, so the first option shown is rarely the cheapest one.
• Assuming the insurance fee is fixed. Sponsors who priced a visa months earlier sometimes budget for the old premium, only to find their preferred insurer has repriced or is no longer the cheapest listed option.
• Confusing the SAR 39 insurance service fee with the premium itself. That charge covers the platform’s processing, not the actual coverage; it’s paid regardless of which insurer is picked.
• Not checking hospital network coverage before choosing the cheapest policy. A lower premium sometimes comes with a narrower list of accepted hospitals, which matters if the visit is to a city where that insurer has limited coverage.
• Leaving the extension insurance until the last day of validity. Extension processing takes time, and an expired policy can hold up the extension itself.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Saudi family visit visa insurance fee?

The premium itself ranges from about SAR 23 to SAR 413 ($6 to $110), depending on the insurer, the visitor’s age, and the visa’s validity period. A separate SAR 39 service fee applies on top of whatever premium is chosen.

Is the family visit visa insurance fee the same as the visa fee?

No. The visa fee (around SAR 300–340, including processing and banking charges) is fixed and separate from the insurance premium, which varies by insurer. Both are paid together in one transaction, but they’re distinct charges.

Who sets the price of the family visit visa insurance?

Each CCHI-licensed insurer prices its own visitor policy. The government doesn’t fix a single premium; the MOFA portal simply lists the approved insurers and their current prices at checkout.

Does the fee change for a multiple-entry visa?

Yes. A one-year multiple-entry visa is priced for a longer coverage window than a three-month single-entry visa, so its premium sits higher within the same insurer’s pricing.

Is the insurance fee refundable if the visa is rejected?

Generally, yes, if the rejection happens before a visa is actually issued. Once the visa is active, the premium isn’t refundable even if the visit ends early.

Where do I pay the insurance fee?

Directly on the MOFA visa platform (visa.mofa.gov.sa), at the same step where the visa fee is charged, right after selecting an insurer from the approved list.

Key takeaway

The insurance line item on a Saudi family visit visa is the one part of the fee sponsors can actually control. The visa fee is fixed; the premium isn’t. Comparing two or three insurers at checkout, rather than accepting the default option, is the single easiest way to bring the total cost down without giving up the SAR 100,000 emergency coverage the visa requires.

Sources

1. Saudi.it.com, “Family Visit Visa Fees for Saudi Arabia 2026” — fee schedule and per-insurer premium table.
2. Saudi.it.com, “Saudi Family Visit Visa Requirements 2026” — payment sequencing after application approval.
3. Gulf News, “Saudi Arabia caps tourist health insurance at SR100,000” — CCHI-mandated coverage cap and covered services.
4. TradeArabia, “Health insurance approved for visitors to Saudi” — original CCHI visitor insurance coverage announcement.