The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has begun issuing e-visas for Umrah, as reported by local media. The initiative aims to enable more Muslims to visit the Kingdom to perform rituals.
Those who intend to obtain e-visas for Umrah can submit applications through the Nusuk platform.
The platform allows pilgrims to visit the holy sites and facilitate procedures including housing choices, transportation services and access to information and interactive maps in numerous languages.
In cooperation with concerned authorities, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah previously announced that those holding a visa from GCC countries and those who have Schengen visas are permitted to book pilgrimage appointments via the Nusuk application.
Services facilitated by the Ministry includes reducing insurance fees for pilgrims, issuance of Umrah visas in less than 24 hours, extension of visas from 30 to 90 days.
As part of new procedural changes, the need for a male guardian for women to perform pilgrimage has now been removed.
UAE citizens’ Umrah guidelines and assistance
Earlier this year, the UAE issued new guidelines for citizens intending to perform Umrah including application of a permit through the designated Nusuk platform.
Additionally, citizens also have to be registered on the ‘Tuwajudi’ application to allow communication and ease of assistance in case of emergency or crises while abroad.
The Ministry has a 24-hour emergency hotline, 0097180024 in cases of emergencies including if in need of an e-return document in case of the theft, damage, or expiry of their UAE passports, or if a baby is born abroad and the family must return to the country.
Alerts were also issued warning citizens against carrying large sums of cash while travelling especially in public areas and to only carry necessities like passports or IDs.
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