Doha: Saudi Arabia started receiving the first group of Umrah pilgrims from abroad today and gave extended the duration of the Umrah visa to 90 days for the first time. Pilgrims will be able to move around and visit all of Saudi Arabia’s governorates using the Umrah visa.
As per previous regulations, Umrah Visa was valid for only 30 days. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, the performance of Umrah and normal congregation prayers in all mosques including the grand mosque were stopped due to lockdown restrictions. The mosques were reopened in October 2020, but with COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Starting July 30 (Muharram 1, 1444), Saudi Arabia will receive the first group of pilgrims coming from abroad, with the start of the Umrah season for the new Hijri year.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in mid-July the start of receiving visa requests for pilgrims from all countries of the world.
