Apply for Online Umrah Visa
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE are the only four countries whose citizens are allowed to visit Saudi Arabia visa-free so if you are not a citizen of the above-mentioned states you surely do need a visa to visit Saudi Arabia. It is a deep-rooted desire for every Muslim in the world to pay a visit to the Holy city of Macca for once.
Umrah as compared to Hajj is more economical and budget-friendly. More and more Muslims who cannot afford to perform Hajj prefer to offer this lesser pilgrim every year. With this rising number of applicants who apply for Umrah visa every year Saudi government has come up with revolutionary changes in Umrah visa policy 2020-21 and for the first time has introduced electronic travel authorization which can facilitate the pilgrims more efficiently.
After the launch of the e-visa program in 2019, the process of getting Saudi visa has become easier and quicker and for the pilgrims, it is now possible to get a cheap Umrah package more easily than it used to be in the past. Until the launch of e-visa, it was quite difficult for the citizens of the UK to get a visa, mostly temporary visas were issued by the authorities for religious and business purposes. Moreover, with the introduction of e-visa, it eliminates the need to visit the Saudi embassy in person to obtain a tourist visa. With e-visa now it is more convenient to get a travel authorization for Saudi Arabia it also results in reducing fees and waiting times.
The new e-visa online application by the Saudi government is designed to take a few minutes to fill it. Applicants all over the world are finding it a more speedy and straightforward process that can be done anywhere with just a reliable internet connection. They can also apply through a licensed travel agent familiar with the visa application process to get the approved traveling documents.
Online Umrah visa in the UK:
Before applying for your Umrah visa it is important to check that your British passport is valid for the next six months and at least has two blank pages, this will be used in issuing you an Umrah visa. A confirmed non-refundable air ticket is also a must-have for obtaining a visa. This will add weight to your promise to the Saudi government that you will not unnecessarily linger your stay and leave Saudi territory after the fulfilment of your Umrah.
Umrah visa cost fluctuates round the year. It might be different at the time of your booking and could change entirely by the time your visa is issued. So always be prepared for the change in costing and consult your travel agent to get a cheap Umrah package.
British passport holders are required to send scanned copies of passport, digital passport size photograph with white background, current email address to receive impotent e-visa notifications from the concerned authorities and a debit or credit card to pay the application fee.
With the new digital visa process, the expected completion time is within 5-7 working days. It is worth mentioning here that Umrah processing time has slightly increased as travel agents are now required to issue a BRN through approved services before they can apply for your Umrah visa.
Muslim women cannot perform Umrah without her Mahram so a documented evidence of relationship with the male relative must be attached with her form. It is obligatory for all the women under the age of 45 to travel for Umrah accompanied by a Mahram and he must be physically present all the time with her. That is why it is important to keep both his and women’s flight the same to avoid any kind of inconvenience.
The validity of Umrah visa is for one month and regardless of how elaborate it is cannot take more than two weeks. It is advisable not to prolong your stay as it may give authorities the wrong idea. During Ramadan, this period further shrinks to 14 days.
When applying for an Umrah visa only from the UK consistency of language must be kept in mind. If some of your documents are in English and some are not it is advised to get the translated documents before applying. You can also face difficulty in notarizing your document if they are not written in the same language.
The e-visa application form will only be entertained if the applicant is a citizen of the UK. Anybody traveling to the UK on visit or work visit visa is not qualified to apply for Umrah visa from the UK. According to the latest regulations, it is in the best interest of the applicants to apply for their Umrah through an Umrah travel specialist in the UK or an authorized UK based travel agency as a government of Saudi Arabia does not allow candidates to apply for Umrah visa directly.
Vaccination:
When you apply for the Umrah visa it is mandatory that you have been properly vaccinated against meningitis and your vaccination certificate must not be older than three years nor less than 10 days before entering in Saudi Arabia.
If the traveler has converted to Islam and does not have an Islamic name, in that case, a certificate from the authorized mosque or Islamic centre is required, stating the applicant is Muslim.
Insurance:
The price of Umrah visa form UK also includes the purchase of medical insurance for their stay in the KSA. The pilgrims do not require to arrange this independently, by the end of December 2019 the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that they have reached an agreement with a company to cover medical insurance of visa holders. According to this agreement, an insurance policy is now directly linked to the pilgrim’s passport and can access medical care in public and private hospitals and can get benefits of coverage in case of flight delays or cancellation, death or repatriation, accidents and disasters.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Saudi government has introduced an online tourist visa to promote international tourism to the state. This e-visa facility is not valid for travel to perform Umrah or Hajj and only available for tourism only.
