RIYADH – The government of Saudi Arabia has announced that expatriates who are found guilty of violating the rules during the upcoming Hajj season will have to face jail for six months.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has stated that besides the jail term, foreigners would be banned from re-entering the kingdom for 10 years after deportation.
To ensure the smooth conduction of Hajj, the Saudi authorities have warned of dire consequences in case violations are reported. In this regard, stringent penalties have been introduced to warn the potential violators.
For instance, the authorities have announced that performing Hajj without obtaining necessary permits is illegal and could attract a hefty fine of 50,000 Saudi riyals.
Saudi Arabia welcomes around 2 million Muslims from across the world for the Hajj season while the number of Umrah pilgrims crosses over 13 million.
The kingdom is trying to provide the best facilities to the pilgrims from different countries and transportation is one of the most important aspects of Hajj primarily because managing the logistics of millions of people every year is a daunting task in itself.
Apart from transportation, the government is also keen to focus on easing the visa procedures and has also improved the Nusuk platform for issuing permits.
The kingdom has also permitted its citizens to apply to invite their friends to visit the country and perform Umrah; soon, a unified visa platform on the pattern of Schengen Visa will also be launched to facilitate the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
