RIYADH – Authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced that those who are having a valid visit visa can not perform Hajj on the said visa.
In this regard, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah clarified on Saturday that the visit visa holders are not allowed to perform the annual Hajj as per the official policy in place.
The ministry stressed that the visit visa is only valid for a duration of 90 days and does not allow performing Hajj.
It bears mentioning that the Hajj pilgrimage can be performed on a visa that is designated for Hajj, or those who are regular residents (iqama holders) in the Kingdom can perform the ritual.
Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Public Security has announced that residents who do not have entry permits will be turned back from the security control points on roads leading to Makkah from Monday onwards.
This comes as part of the Hajj operation which requires residents entering the Holy City to get a permit from the competent authorities. The exceptions, in this case, include those who work in the holy sites and have entry permits or those who hold a resident’s identity card issued in the holy capital or an Umrah or Hajj permit.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is currently making efforts to facilitate Hajj pilgrims who would start reaching the country this month. The authorities toiled hard to cater to the Umrah pilgrims who landed in the country in record numbers in Ramazan; however, the true test of those in charge begins as the Hajj season kicks off.
On January 10, the Kingdom announced that it will no longer impose limits on the number of pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, years after protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic restricted the number of pilgrims.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time Saudi Arabia would be welcoming pilgrims in large numbers i.e. around 2.3m after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Around one million people joined the 2022 Hajj season and only those in the age bracket 18 to 65 who were fully vaccinated or immunized against the virus and did not suffer from chronic diseases were allowed to visit the kingdom.
