Beggars can be choosers ... when Umrah visas are being sold.

KSA prepared to host over 6m Umrah pilgrims

More than six million Muslims from across the globe are expected to perform Umrah next year, according to Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar. He reiterated his ministry’s readiness to host huge numbers of Umrah pilgrims.

He added that the ministry is currently working on the final draft of a new executive bylaw for Umrah in coordination with the ministries of interior and foreign affairs. “We’ll announce this bylaw soon after it is finalized,” he said.

He said the newly amended Umrah law, which has been approved by the Council of Ministers, would be applied on pilgrims. 

The meeting, held between the ministry’s undersecretaries and other agencies, discussed several reports evaluating the level of services offered to Hajis and ways to enhance amenity standards, such as tents, electricity, water, sewage, air conditioning and the overall level of hygiene at the sites.

The Haj Ministry will send recommendations to Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif, chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, and Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah, head of the Central Haj Committee.

Hajjar also chaired a meeting with the ministry’s undersecretaries and a committee following up on a 25-year strategic plan for Haj and Umrah requested by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to cope with the continued increase in the number of pilgrims year after year.

The strategic plan will cover Haj and Umrah requirements for the next 25 years. A detailed study on this project, to be conducted by consultancy firms, will take nine months to complete.
Courtesy:ArabNews

Umrah firms need SR2m bank guarantee to serve pilgrims.

All Umrah companies now need to provide the government with a SR2 million bank-guaranteed check if they want to operate in the Kingdom. This is one of several new regulations issued by the government recently to help regulate the industry.

Umrah firms must make out the bank-guaranteed checks to the Ministry of Haj. The guarantee has to be valid throughout the duration of the license period. The ministry would be entitled to withdraw amounts from any party that fails to fulfill its obligations. A withdrawn amount would have to be covered immediately by a violating firm. A guarantee can only be canceled with the permission of the ministry, or when the license ends.

Criteria for granting licenses would be issued by the interior, foreign affairs and Haj ministries. The criteria include financial solvency, efficient management, experience in the field, the number of delays in pilgrims leaving the country, and previous sanctions. If there are delays, then the government would deduct transport costs from a firm's account, or the money would be taken from the bank guarantee.

The new regulations also make provision for the establishment of a company that has to win a public tender process, to handle the documents of pilgrims when they enter and exit the Kingdom. This is aimed at easing the burden on Umrah companies. This company will be given a lump sum to offer the service, made up of fees collected from Umrah firms. The Ministry of Finance will be working with the other ministries to oversee this process.

In addition, companies that fail to ensure that their pilgrims leave as scheduled will not be allowed to use the automatic booking system for hotels and apartments.

The Interior Ministry has to implement several measures in accordance with the new regulations including punishing those who use Umrah visas for other purposes. 

The Haj ministry is required to ensure that all Umrah firms have security permits approved by the interior ministry. It also has to ensure that it sends details of all visas issued at the embassies to the interior ministry.

The new regulations allow Umrah firms to extend pilgrim arrival and departure dates by a maximum of 30 days.

Before granting visas, the government requires Umrah firms to input all information related to pilgrims' residences, room numbers and travel reservations onto the Umrah electronic portal, which will be linked to the electronic reservation of hotels and furnished apartments.

The regulations also commit the government to ensure that a mechanism is found, with the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, to deal with foreign firms that do not have Umrah agents in their home countries. Licensed pilgrim companies and institutions often refuse to sign contracts with these companies.

All government agencies are required to coordinate their actions to ensure that pilgrims arrive and leave as scheduled.