Geographical Boundaries Of The Pilgrimage Travel

By Author: Abdullah Saif
Total Articles: 12
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Both Hajj and Umrah are the sacred events that require Muslims to book their hajj tour package 2022; travel to Makkah and offer the holy rituals of the pilgrimage there. For pilgrims, visiting the kingdom of Saudi Arabia requires all of the international travel requisites to be fulfilled.
Since the country hosts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually, the Saudi Government needs to have keen security laws and regulations concerning the Geographical boundaries of the pilgrimage visas.
Just like any other foreign ravel, traveling for hajj and umrah requires the pilgrim to obtain a specific travel visa. The applicant has to necessarily meet all of the requirements of a hajj/umrah visa application form that requires submitting valid relevant documents. If a pilgrim fails to satisfy the authorities, his/her visa application might get rejected.

Rules concerning the Geographical boundaries of Pilgrimage Visa.
•Pilgrimage visas i.e., for Hajj and Umrah, get issued free of cost by the Saudi Government. However, pilgrims are required ...
... to pay for the services they are provided in Saudia Arabia i.e., travel, accommodation, transportation, meals, etc. Additionally, the travel agents can charge their clients some amount of money for the documentation procedures.
•The Hajj and Umrah visas are only valid for travel within the vicinities of the cities of Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah. Therefore, a pilgrim cannot visit any other city of Saudia Arabia until and unless he/she obtains approval for it on their visas from the authorities.
•It is prohibited for pilgrims to overstay their Hajj or Umrah visas unless permission is obtained beforehand. Otherwise, doing so would result in penalties amounting to thousands of dollars as well as detention in some cases (as per the legalities).
•Pilgrims are advised to depart from the Kingdom before their visa expires (as soon as the permissible stay period gets over).
•An Umrah/Hajj visa is not a tourist travel visa, it must be kept in mind.
•It is a criminal offense to stay in Saudia Arabia after the pilgrimage period ends, until and unless a pilgrim has already obtained an extension on his/her visa.

New rules implemented in Saudi Vision 2030 Plan.
As the Saudi Vision 2030 plan was introduced in late 2019, a lot of amendments were made to boost the country’s tourism, infrastructure, and business opportunities. Consequently, Hajj and umrah policies were also revised by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. According to the new policies;
1.Muslims are now permitted to perform umrah on a tourist visa to the kingdom i.e., they no longer need to obtain specific umrah visas for it. These tourist visas are available through e-services as well as visa-on-arrival procedures.
2.Though obtaining an umrah visa is not necessary for a Muslim to perform umrah now, for hajj, the necessity of obtaining a specific Hajj visa remains.
These are some of the things to consider about the geographical boundaries of pilgrimage travel.