Travel to Saudi – Preparations

It has been almost 2 years since I have last traveled overseas and that was to India just around the time before Malaysia closed down her borders. I was lucky enough not to be stuck in India during that travel restriction.

This time I have been fortunate to be invited by LEAP to be one of their speakers at the conference which is to be held 1-3 Feb. 2022. All traveling (including Visa) and accommodation expenses are borne by them.

However, due to many new procedures for travel due to Covid-19, I will share the preparation needed for my travel to Saudi Arabia.

Flight Reservation (Booked by host – Emirates)
Hotel Reservation (Booked by host – Hilton Riyadh Hotel & Residences)
Airport Transfers (Arranged by host)
VISA (Done by host via Saudi eVISA)
Muqeem Vaccination Regitration Predeparture. Need to apply a maximum of 72 hrs before departure)
Download Tawakkalna Application. Important: Please download the application to your phone prior to travel to KSA and have data roaming activated for use in KSA. You will ONLY be able to register once you arrive into KSA and have activated data roaming on your phone to receive the confirmation code via SMS.
Conduct RT-PCR Test at home i.e. 48 hours before departure. Since I am travelling on Sunday (30 Jan. 2022) at 01:30 hrs, I went to do my test on Friday at Poliklinik Dr. Medic at 9.40am and received the result (which is tested negative Covid) via WhatsApp 9.10 am Saturday (29 Jan. 2022). It cost me RM 180 which I paid via Bank Transfer and sent the rececipt to them one day earlier and requested for a Drive-In.
Request for Home Quarantine (4-10 days prior) arrival. Applied on Friday night and received the approved Home Quarantine by 4.36 am via email.
Register for Digital Tracker wrist band since I came from one of the listed countries that’s considered as high-risk countries by Malaysia.
Conduct RT-PCR Test at KSA (Saudi). The host has also arranged for this. Need to take the test at least 24 hrs prior flight departure.
Enable Roaming (Voice and Data). I am using Celcom. Check this Celcom Roaming charges.
[Latest Update] Covid-19 Insurance. I nearly missed my flight when the check-in counter requested for Covid-19 insurance. Luckily my Prudential Insurance covered the Covid-19. For travel, I need pay first and claim later (as described by my Agent). I just showed her my Insurance Policy (which I logged in via Pru Access)

I will update the traveling experience in my next post and probably need to update further update any arrangements for the RT-PCR test when arriving at Airport KLIA and using the digital bracelet (for people arriving from Saudi and some other high-risk countries) during quarantine for 5 days.