Saudi Arabia has set April 13, 2025 as the last date for issuing Umrah visas (Photo: Visit Saudi)
Days before the annual Hajj pilgrimage begins, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to citizens of 14 countries including India until mid-June.
According to reports, the ban comes amid the Kingdom’s efforts to manage overcrowding associated with the Hajj pilgrimage and to prevent individuals from attempting to perform Hajj without proper registration.
The authorities have set April 13, 2025, as the last date for issuing Umrah visas, with no new visas of these types granted to nationals of the affected countries until after Hajj concludes.
Besides India, the nations affected by the ban are Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. The visa ban has been imposed as several people from India and other nations allegedly entered Saudi Arabia on Umrah or visit visas and overstayed to conduct Hajj without registering through the proper channels.
This bypasses the kingdom’s quota system, which assigns specific Hajj slots to each country to limit the number of pilgrims. India is anyway one of the largest source nations for Hajj pilgrims and in 2024, India and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement capping the number of Hajj pilgrims from India at 175,025, almost 11 pc of total foreign visitors for Hajj that numbered about 1.6 million.
In the past week, the authorities have also arrested 18,407 people for breaking residency, labour and border security rules, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Additionally, 67 people were caught attempting to exit into neighbouring countries, and 21 were held for helping or hiding violators. The Ministry of Interior, Saudi Arabia also warned its citizens against helping illegal, stating that if found guilty, citizens could face up to 15 years in jail, fines of SAR 1 million and seizure of their vehicles and property.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country, has directed stricter visa enforcement to ensure a safe and well-organised Hajj season.
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