Turkey and Saudi Arabia have continued to expand travel and visa arrangements between their citizens, while Pakistan does not currently have the same broad visa-free access for ordinary passport holders.
Saudi Arabia added Turkey to its electronic visa system in 2023, allowing Turkish ordinary and official passport holders to apply for tourist e-visas covering tourism, business, Umrah and family visits. Saudi citizens can also obtain visas for travel to Turkey through several available options.
The development has attracted attention following the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in August 2026. The agreement focuses on collective defense, security cooperation and counterterrorism rather than establishing visa-free travel between the three countries.
Pakistan has, however, recently secured a separate visa-exemption agreement with Saudi Arabia. The deal applies to holders of diplomatic and special passports for short-term travel and does not provide a general visa waiver for ordinary Pakistani passport holders.
The different arrangements have raised questions about whether ordinary Pakistani travelers could receive broader visa facilitation in the future. For now, the Makkah Accord itself does not establish visa-free travel among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
