Makkah: Saudi Arabia launched an e-system to refund the Umrah fee and service charges to persons whose pilgrimage was affected due to the ban imposed by the country.
Refund process
The refund will be made through authorized pilgrimage agents. Affected pilgrims can contact local Umrah agents in their respective countries.
It may be mentioned that Saudi Arabia has imposed a temporary ban on the entry of Umrah pilgrims over fears of the deadly coronavirus.
The Ministry said that this precautionary step comes in completion of the efforts taken to provide the utmost protection to the safety of citizens and residents and everyone who intends to come to the Kingdom to perform Umrah or visit the Prophet’s Mosque.
Ban on Gulf nationals
The Kingdom has also banned the entry of Gulf nationals to Makkah and Madina. However, the ban is not applicable to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals who have been in the Kingdom for 14 consecutive days without showing signs of coronavirus infection and wish to perform Umrah or visit the Prophet’s Mosque.
It may be noted that in the Middle East, 220 cases of coronavirus have been reported.