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Each
applicant for a Hajj visa must apply through a licensed
travel agency, which must present the Consulate with copies of
“Accommodation Contacts” and a letter of the Ministry
of Hajj in Saudi Arabia confirming that the travel agency has duly
completed all requirements to qualify to assist pilgrims.
Applications
for Hajj visa will not be considered if the following requirements are
not complete:
- The
applicant must have a passport with a validity of at least six (6)
months and acceptable both for entry to Saudi Arabia and entry to
the next destination; the passport should have at least two empty
visa pages adjacent to each other.
- Each
applicant must submit one (1) recent passport size color photograph
with a white background. The photograph must be a full-face view in
which the visa applicant is facing the camera directly. Side or
angled views are NOT accepted.
- The
applicant must submit a completed application form filled in with
black ink pen or printed; the form must be signed and stamped by the
authorized travel agency.
- The
Mahram should write his complete information on the application
forms of his spouse and children or any relative with whom he is
traveling. He should also provide copies of marriage or birth
certificates; if these documents were issued outside the USA, he
should then provide copies translated and notarized by a certified
translation office.
- All
ladies are required to travel for Hajj with a Mahram. Proof of
kinship must be submitted with the application form. Any lady over
the age of forty-five (45) may travel without a Mahram with an
organized group, provided she submits a letter of no objection from
her husband, son or brother authorizing her to travel for Hajj with
the named group. This letter should be notarized.
- The
applicant must be in possession of a non-refundable roundtrip ticket
with confirmed reservations.
- The
applicant must submit proof of vaccination for meningitis and
ACYW135. For infants and children up to fifteen (15) years of age, a
vaccination report is required for polio as well as meningitis and
polio. Children over fifteen (15) years of age should present the
same vaccinations requested for adults.
- Each
pilgrim should submit two certified checks or cashier checks payable
to ‘Unified Agents Office’ in Jeddah for pilgrimage services.
These checks should include the name and the passport number of the
pilgrim. Each applicant must pay the following fees:
(a) US $158.40 (one hundred fifty-eight dollars & forty cents)
for services rendered by the local Tawaf agencies and for housing at
the Holy sites.
(b) US $116.00 (one hundred sixteen dollars only) for
air-conditioned transportation services.
Pilgrims have the option to submit one check combining both fees: in
this case, the amount would be US$ 274.40 (two hundred seventy-four
dollars & forty cents).
Children between the age of seven (7) and fifteen (15) should only
pay half of the above-mentioned amount.
Children under the age of seven (7) do not need to pay.
- Non-US
citizens should submit a copy of their green card or documented
proof of legal residence status in the USA. Passport authorities in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reserve the right to return (at his or
her own expense) any pilgrim who has provided wrong or false
information about their residence in the USA.
- No
applicant under the legal age of eighteen (18) will be granted a
Hajj visa if not accompanied by his family.
- If
the applicant has converted to Islam, an Islamic certificate must be
presented; this needs to be notarized by an Islamic Center.
General
Guidelines:
- Travelers
must carry vaccination certificates with them for inspection by the
Saudi Authority at port of entry.
- No
food products are allowed into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- The
last day to enter King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah for the purpose
of Hajj is 4 Dhu Al-Hijjah of each year.
- Upon
arrival, pilgrims shall hand their passports to the custody of the
“Unified Agents Office” representatives to enable the latter to
complete all travel formalities to Makkah and Madinah.
- In
the event that pilgrims lose their passport, they should immediately
report the loss to the same office appointed to take care of them
during Hajj. Applicants must obtain a report from the office of the
Unified Agents in which the loss of passport is mentioned.
- All
pilgrims must leave the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after Hajj no later
than the 10th of Muharram of each year. The rules and regulations of
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia forbid any pilgrims from staying in the
country after the completion of Hajj.
General
guidelines for travel agencies:
- Travel
agents must provide the consulate with Residence, Tawaf, and
transportation contracts. They also must provide the unified
contract that verifies the general services provided to pilgrims.
This contact must include the name of the organizer, the code given
to him by the Ministry of Hajj, and the number of visas he’s
allowed to get. He also must provide the consulate with a letter
from the Ministry of Hajj’s office in Makkah. All these documents
should arrive at the consulate before hajj visas are issued.
- Passports
will be returned if the information submitted is not compatible with
the information sent electronically by the Ministry of Pilgrimage.
The Embassy reserves the right to inform the ministry of Pilgrimage
about travel agencies that submit inaccurate or incomplete
information.
- Travel
agencies should affix on each passport a sticker showing the
agency’s name, address and telephone number.
- In
the case that a travel agency wishes to submit any question or
complaints to the Ministry
of Hajj, they could do so through the company or agency they
deal with in Saudi Arabia or through the official routes in their
country.
Notes:
- Visitors
should not overstay the time granted on the visa.
- Visitors
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must abide by the country’s Islamic
laws and regulations and respect its society’s values and
traditions.
- The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s laws against drug trafficking are
strictly enforced. Violators are subject to severe punishment, which
may include the death penalty.
- Sectarian,
political or religious gatherings are forbidden.
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