MEA clarifies no new journey restrictions on Indians visiting Saudi Arabia amid Hajj visa row

What occurred

The Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) has dismissed reviews of latest journey restrictions on Indian nationals going to Saudi Arabia, stating that no recent notifications have been issued by the Saudi authorities. Non permanent visa restrictions through the Hajj season are customary and can finish as soon as the pilgrimage concludes.

Inform me extra

– The MEA confirmed that Saudi Arabia has not imposed any new journey bans particularly focusing on Indians.

– Non permanent restrictions on short-term visas throughout Hajj are routine to handle the inflow of pilgrims and keep away from overcrowding.

– Media reviews earlier urged Saudi Arabia had suspended block work visas for a few dozen international locations, together with India; nonetheless, this suspension has been in impact since Might 2025.

– The visa suspension is linked to safety and administrative issues, particularly managing pilgrims and immigration through the busy Hajj interval.

– The non permanent ban on sure visas will stay till 30 June 2025.

– Hajj is without doubt one of the 5 pillars of Islam, requiring each bodily and financially succesful Muslim to carry out the pilgrimage to Mecca no less than as soon as of their lifetime.

– India’s quota for Hajj pilgrims in 2025 is ready at 175,025, agreed upon in a January 2025 bilateral assembly between India’s Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah.

– The quota system, established by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 1987, limits pilgrims from every nation to 0.1% of its inhabitants to make sure manageable numbers.

– The pilgrimage concludes with Eid al-Adha, a serious Islamic pageant commemorating Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son.

The voices

“The Saudi Authorities has not issued any notification on this matter. As a matter of follow, through the Hajj season, non permanent restrictions are imposed on short-term visas to forestall overcrowding, which can finish with the conclusion of Hajj,” MEA’s official sources.

The context

Hajj is a deeply important non secular occasion for Muslims worldwide, drawing hundreds of thousands to Mecca yearly. To make sure security and handle the huge inflow, Saudi Arabia routinely imposes non permanent visa restrictions through the pilgrimage season. India, with one of many largest Muslim populations, receives a considerable quota of pilgrims underneath worldwide agreements.

The present non permanent suspension of sure visas, together with block work visas, is a part of routine administrative and safety measures throughout this era and isn’t a brand new restriction focusing on Indian travellers. The MEA’s clarification goals to reassure Indian pilgrims and travellers that ordinary journey will resume after the Hajj season ends.