Saudi Arabia's Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) has published an official list of 17 items that travellers are barred from carrying into the Kingdom, whether through airports or land border checkpoints, as part of its updated customs regulations for 2026.
Full List of Prohibited Items
The banned items range from unregistered pharmaceutical products and herbs to eavesdropping devices and sexual tools. Nutmeg fruit and its powder, guru fruits, and publications violating media regulations also feature on the official prohibited goods list.
The items as listed on the official Saudi government website are:
- Pills, intoxicants, and drugs of all kinds.
- Discs and storage devices that contain immoral materials.
- Counterfeit currencies.
- Fireworks of all shapes and types.
- Prohibited chewing smoke.
- Tear softeners.
- Weapons and ammunition.
- What contains a secret camera, such as watches, pens, and glasses.
- Laser: Travellers arriving in the Kingdom are allowed one laser pen, which is red only, and the laser power it produces does not exceed 5 milliwatts.
- All types of electric shocks.
- Speed radar detectors.
- Guru fruits.
- Books and publications that violate the regulations of the Ministry of Media.
- Pills, creams, sexual tonics, [expletive] pills, herbs, and lotions not registered with the Food and Drug Administration.
- Nutmeg fruit and its powder.
- Sexual organs, tools and devices.
- Eavesdropping devices of all shapes and types.
Penalties and Enforcement
Authorities have not specified the penalties attached to each category of prohibited item in the public-facing list, but Saudi customs law generally provides for seizure of banned goods at the point of entry, with the possibility of additional legal consequences depending on the nature of the item.
Travellers planning to enter Saudi Arabia in 2026 are advised to review the full ZATCA prohibited goods list ahead of their trip to avoid delays or legal complications at customs checkpoints.
Related Developments
In a related story, Saudi Arabia had released a list of 14 countries not eligible for visa on arrival. Additionally, Saudi Arabia announced a new national visa platform and exempted three countries from visa requirements. According to Saudi Gazette, the new platform will serve as a unified system for managing visa services, streamlining processes for visitors and residents. The Cabinet also approved agreements with Hungary, Kazakhstan and Poland to mutually exempt holders of diplomatic, service and special passports from visa requirements.
