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Information on Umrah Sector an its Laws and Regulations in the Ministry of Pilgrimage
Umrah Laws, Regulations and Instructions
Al-Mu'tamir/s: is/are the one who come into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah rituals and visit the Prophet's Holy Mosque.
Services shall be extended to Al-Mu'tamirs by Saudi establishments or companies following their obtaining of the relevant license from the Ministry of Pilgrimage.
The Ministry of Pilgrimage shall supervise on such licensed establishments and companies, monitor their performance, ensure their compliance with their commitments and work on upgrading the efficiency of their staff.
Commitments of Licensed establishments and companies:
Reception of Al-Mu'tamirs, provision of their accommodation in hotels and furnished apartments classified and licensed by the Ministry of Commerce, securing of their transportation and transfer and supervising on the provision of comfort means during their presence in the Kingdom and within the period allowed for their stay as specified on their visas.
Maintaining of information that include the Al-Mu'tamirs' names, nationalities, passport data, means of transportation on which they arrived, date of arrival and names of carriers.
Implementation of the procedures and guarantees that ensure the Mu'tamirs' departure on specified times.
The Ministry of Pilgrimage in association with other entities shall prepare a detailed list of the service levels, types, specifications and standards, and rates. Such a list shall be assessed every three years or when there is a need.
The Ministry of Pilgrimage shall impose on the licensed establishment or the company, which violates its obligations penalties such as financial fines, temporary suspensions, and license termination.
The Ministry shall also penalize those unlicensed entities that extend services to Al-Mu'tamirs with a financial fine. The licensed entities abroad shall be punished through preventing them from dealing with the licensed establishments or companies in the Kingdom in case they breach their contractual obligations.
The Kingdom's legations abroad shall grant visas to Al-Mu'tamirs provided that:
Al-Mu'tamirs shall come into the Kingdom through the entities, officially licensed to practice organizing travel trips in their countries.
Compliance with health prerequisites issued by the Ministry of Health.
Ensuring that Al-Mu'tamirs possess return travel tickets and they are capable of paying the fees of the establishment or company that shall serve them in the Kingdom as per the level agreed.
The visa shall state the name of the establishment or the company licensed to serve Al-Mu'tamir in the Kingdom.
The Passport Directorate may give the transit passengers in the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah or Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah or Jeddah Islamic Port an entry visa for Umrah or visit to the Prophet's Holy Mosque in case their stay exceeds more than twenty four hours.
Al-Mu'tamir may travel among the Kingdom regions and cities within the stay period allowed for them as per the visa provided that the licensed establishment or company obtains a permit from the Passport Department which clearly specifies the travel destinations, period allowed, following the provision of a transportation means and accommodation.
By virtue of a resolution of the Minster of Pilgrimage, a Permanent Committee shall be formed to attend to Al-Mu'tamirs' complaints, and violations. The Ministry shall also establish offices to attend to Al-Mu'tamirs' complaints to be discussed, documented and amicably settled between the two concerned conflicting parties prior to the referral of which to the competent Committee. The Minister, following his review to the committee recommendations, may resolve a penalty or more as appropriate as he perceives according to the lawful and regulatory penalties.
In the year 2005, a company named Tasheel was founded. The function of such company was to handle all services of reception and biding farewell to all Mu'tamirs coming into the Kingdom from abroad at the various air, land, and sea borders on behalf of the Saudi Umrah establishments and companies in exchange for a free for each Mu'tamir to be collected from Umrah establishments and companies.
By means of a networking linkage, the service of transferring immediately and accurately the arrival and departure data of the Mu'tamirs of the Umrah establishments and companies was provided.
A fully integrated informative program that covers all the media audio, video and written means to provide information on the distinctive services to be extended by Umrah establishments and companies of the Kingdom.
In an attempt by the Ministry of Pilgrimage to curb those Mu'tamirs who stay behind in the Kingdom after the end of their program period on the basis of which they came, certain rules and controls and precise conditions have been set for the accomplishment of such a thing in coordination with the competent authorities in the Kingdom and also in those countries. For example, a gradual control of the ratios and numbers of visas issued for the nationalities who have had high incidents of over-staying. Such a control was conducted through an automatic method associated with the verified departure from their countries then their actual arrival to the Kingdom. The same control can be also fulfilled by means of imposing personal, refundable financial securities on Al-Mu'tamirs of the nationalities who have had high recorded over-staying.
The dates of issuing Umrah visas shall be effective as form the 1st day of Safar of each Hijri year while the deadline for giving Umrah visas from the Saudi legations abroad as per the data sent shall be the 15th of Ramadan of each Hijri year. The deadline for the arrival of Mu'tamirs into the Kingdom shall be the end of the Holy month of Ramadan of each Hijri year while the deadline for their departure shall be the 15th of Shawwal of each Hijri year.