What do I need for an Umrah visa?

You will need the following:

• A completed original Umrah visa application form. The statement written at the end of the application form must be carefully read and signed. (To obtain a visa application form by post, send a large, self-addressed envelope to your nearest Saudi Consulate.)
• If someone has a non-Muslim name, he or she should submit a certificate from a mosque or an Islamic center stating that the applicant is a Muslim.
• One recent passport size color photograph with a white background should be attached to the application form. 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.
• Passports should be valid for at least 6 months from the date of submission of the application form.
• Confirmed and non-refundable airline ticket.
• Departure from Saudi Arabia should be within two weeks from the date of entry. Women and children should be accompanied by husband/father or a male relative (Mahram). Proof of relationship is required (a marriage certificate for a wife, a birth certificate for a child indicating the names of both parents).
• The Mahram must travel into and out of Saudi Arabia on the same flight as his wife and children.
• If a woman is 45 years old or older, she is allowed to go without a Mahram if she travels with an organized group or family and submits a notarized No Objection Certificate from her Mahram. If the applicant is not a national of the country he/she is applying from, a valid residency permit must be submitted with the application.
• A vaccination certificate against Meningococcal Meningitis should be attached. The certificate of vaccinations should have been issued not more than three years and not less than 10 days prior to entry to Saudi Arabia and it should be valid for three years. The vaccination certificate must be with the applicant on entry to Saudi Arabia.

Umrah visa is valid for 30 days only. This does not mean that you can stay in Saudi Arabia for 30 days. Within these 30 days, you should perform Umrah, making sure your departure from Saudi Arabia is within two weeks of the date of entry.

The visa for Umrah in Ramadan cannot exceed the last day of Ramadan. You should leave Saudi Arabia by the end of Ramadan and cannot have Eid-ul-Fitr there.