Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj and Umrah on Sunday reaffirmed that the visit visa holders are not allowed to perform the Haj.
The ministry emphasized that the visit visa is only valid for a duration of 90 days and does not grant permission for Hajj participation. Visitors are requested to adhere to their visa conditions and ensure that they depart before their visa expiry date.
The Haj pilgrimage can be performed on a visa that is designated for Haj, or those who are the regular residents (iqama holders) in the Kingdom.
The regulations and instructions in the Kingdom also prevent the performance of Umrah during the Haj season.
On January 10, Kingdom announced that it will no longer impose limits on the number of pilgrims for this year’s Haj after three years of restrictions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, authorities emphasized that pilgrims who want to perform Haj must be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Priority is given to those who have not performed Haj before.
The Kingdom expects to receive two million pilgrims during this season.
The number of pilgrims during the 2022 season reached 899,353, including 779,919 from outside the Kingdom, while the 2021 season was limited to 60,000, compared to only 10,000 in 2020.
Saudi Arabia had received 2.5 million pilgrims in 2019, in the last season before the pandemic.
