Requirements for Hajj Visa

The Hajj is a mandatory religious duty that must be carried out during the lifetime of all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of the journey and who are able to support their family during their absence. It takes place over five or six days, between the eighth and thirteenth of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Eligible travelers are able to apply for the Saudi Arabia Hajj visa from between Mid-Shawwal until 25th Dhu-al-Qa’dah of each year. The latest that the visa holder can enter the country via King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah for the purpose of Hajj is the 4 Dhu’l-Hijjah of each year. Saudi Arabian law forbids pilgrims from staying in the Kingdom after the end of Hajj, and holders of the Hajj visa must leave no later than the 10th of Muharram of each year. As with the Umrah visa, the requirements for the Hajj visa involve having an eligible
passport valid from 6 months, although 2 adjacent blank pages inside the document are also necessary for this travel document.
Another additional requirement for the Hajj visa is contracting pilgrimage services (guides, Zamzam water agents, tent accommodation in Mina and Arafat, and transportation costs) to ensure the success of the trip, by paying the appropriate fees.

Requirements for Umrah Visa

A completed original Umrah visa application form. The statement written at the end of the application form must be carefully read and signed. (To obtain a visa application form by post, send a large, self-addressed envelope to your nearest Saudi Consulate.) One recent passport size color photograph with a white background should be attached to the application form. The photograph must be a full-face view in which the visa applicant is facing the camera directly. Side or angled views are NOT accepted.

Passports should be valid for at least 6 months from the date of submission of the application form.

Confirmed and non-refundable airline ticket. Departure from Saudi Arabia should be within two weeks from the date of entry.

Women and children should be accompanied by husband/father or a male relative (Mahram). Proof of relationship is required (a marriage certificate for a wife, a birth certificate for a child indicating the names of both parents). The Mahram must travel into and out of Saudi Arabia on the same flight as his wife and children.

Note: If a woman is 45 years old or older, she is allowed to go without a Mahram if she travels with an organized group or family and submits a notarized No Objection Certificate from her Mahram.

Note: If the applicant is not a national of the country he/she is applying from, a valid residency permit must be submitted with the application. A vaccination certificate against Meningococcal Meningitis should be attached. The certificate of vaccinations should have been issued not more than three years and not less than 10 days prior to entry to Saudi Arabia and it should be valid for three years. The vaccination certificate must be with the applicant on entry to Saudi Arabia.

VALIDITY OF UMRAH VISA:

Umrah visa is valid for 2 weeks only. Within these 2 weeks you should perform Umrah, making sure your departure from Saudi Arabia is within two weeks of the date of entry.

Note: The visa for Umrah in Ramadan cannot exceed the last day of Ramadan. You should leave Saudi Arabia by the end of Ramadan and cannot have Eid-Ul-Fitr there.