Saudi Arabia briefly halts visas for 14 nations together with India, till finish of Hajj 2025

Saudi Arabia has briefly suspended the issuance of Umrah (generally outlined because the non-mandatory ‘lesser’ pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca, for which there is no such thing as a specified timeframe), enterprise, and household go to visas for residents of 14 nations — together with India — efficient instantly and persevering with till mid-June 2025, as per varied media reviews.

This timeframe aligns with the conclusion of the Hajj pilgrimage season. The transfer, in keeping with the reviews, is geared toward managing overcrowding and enhancing security protocols throughout Hajj.

As per Saudi directives, the ultimate date for issuing Umrah visas is about for 13 April. Following this cutoff, nationals from the affected international locations is not going to be granted new Umrah, enterprise, or household go to visas till the completion of Hajj. The suspension is relevant to residents of the next international locations: Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.

India’s inclusion within the listing is reportedly owing to considerations surrounding ‘unauthorised’ Hajj participation. In keeping with varied sources, some people from India and different listed nations have entered the dominion on Umrah or go to visas and subsequently remained to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage with out registering by way of official channels. This apply circumvents Saudi Arabia’s regulated quota system, which assigns a particular variety of Hajj slots to every nation to handle pilgrim volumes.