Umrah Pilgrims’ Visa Duration Extended Three Times
Saudi minister for Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, made the announcement during a visit to Pakistan on Tuesday.
The visiting Saudi minister was speaking to journalists in Karachi at a road show held to launch the Saudi travel app Nusuk in Pakistan.
Nusuk is the kingdom’s first official planning, booking and experience platform to create Hajj or Umrah itineraries to Mecca, Medina and beyond. It allows travelers from all over the world to easily organize their visit to Saudi Arabia by facilitating their e-visa process along with flight and hotel bookings.
“The kingdom has attempted to provide abundant facilities,” the minister said. “For example, the Umrah visa, it became from 30 days to 90 days, and the issuing of visas is becoming much easier now and it can be issued in less than 24 hours.”
Al-Rabiah arrived in Pakistan on a four-day visit along with an official delegation on Sunday to discuss Hajj and Umrah facilities for Pakistani pilgrims and discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Discussing the reforms undertaken by the Saudi government, he said the kingdom had also eased the Mahram condition for female visitors, allowing them to perform Hajj and Umrah without a male guardian.
He noted the transit visa holders could also avail a free four-day window to perform Umrah during their brief stay in the Kingdom.
“We have launched the visa, the transit visa, which allows to transit, to travel via the kingdom, and to stay in the kingdom for four days and the Saudi airlines provides one night for free,” he added.
Al-Rabiah also mentioned an agreement signed between the aviation sectors of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday to enhance the number of flights between the two countries.
“We are very keen to provide all the facilities that can attract greater number of visitors,” he said. “During my visit to Pakistan, we have worked on increasing the number of flights and signed an understanding, or an agreement rather, between the Saudi Airlines and the Pakistani Airlines to increase the number of flights.”
The minister said a Saudi budget air carrier, Fly Deen, would soon begin its flight operations between the two countries to increase traveling but to bring down its cost.
“We have approved the airline called Fly Deen as a carrier company from Pakistan and this [agreement] has been reached yesterday,” he informed. “So, the number of flights will increase and with a lower cost and the opportunities to collaborate are huge.”
The minister said the kingdom had expanded tourism destinations and increased the capacity of hotels in Mecca and Medina to accommodate increasing number of pilgrims.
“The capacity of housing has been increased, both of the grand mosques [in the two holy cities] have now been expanded, airports have been expanded as well,” Al-Rabiah said, adding: “All of these expansions are to accommodate larger number of people who want to perform Umrah.”
The Saudi minister said the government had developed and opened more than 100 historical, archaeological, and religious sites to promote tourism.
“Mecca and Medina have a lot of historical sites like the Hira Cave, the Thour Mountain, the Uhud area, Jabal Al-Rumah, and other very important places that everyone loves to see,” he continued.
Earlier, while addressing a gathering, the Saudi minister said that about 1.6 million Pakistanis visit Saudi Arabia every year.
Fahd Hamidaddin, chief executive officer of the Saudi Tourism Authority, also expressed hope that the launch of the Nusuk platform, which is also available in Urdu, would increase the number of visitors from Pakistan to the kingdom to about two million.
Source: Arab News
