The Crime Desk: Saudi Arabia is planning to increase the number of Umrah pilgrims. An official of the country said that Saudi Arabia wants to allow at least 30 million people to perform Umrah every year. This information was reported in the online report from Gulf News last Saturday.
At present, every year, one crore people are given the opportunity to perform Umrah in the country. Saudi Assistant Undersecretary for Umrah Affairs Abdulrahman bin Fahad told Saudi television Al-Ekhbeer that the number of Umrah pilgrims is increasing every year.
He mentioned this time that there are plans to increase the number of Umrah pilgrims from 1 crore to 3 crore this year.
According to Gulf News, the Umrah season will begin at the beginning of this month. Earlier, 1.8 lakh pilgrims from different Muslim countries around the world went to the country to perform Hajj.
The country has been promoting its various benefits for pilgrims interested in performing Umrah in recent months. According to a new report by Gulf News, more than 4.5 million people went to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah in the first six months of the current hijri year. Most of these Muslims have gone to Saudi Arabia by air. Others are in various border areas and sea lanes.
The largest number of 10 lakh, 5 thousand, and 65 people from Indonesia went to perform Umrah in the country this time. After that, Pakistan is in second place. 7 lakh, 92 thousand, and 208 people have gone to perform Umrah in the country. Then India, Egypt, and Iraq are in the third, fourth, and fifth positions, respectively.
Recently, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of an electronic visa, or e-visa, for those interested in performing Umrah. Those interested in performing Umrah can apply for an e-visa using the Nusuk app.
Visas will be available within 24 hours of application through this app. Besides, the country has extended the visa period from 30 days to 90 days.
This visa can be used to visit the country by land, air, or sea. Apart from this, according to the new rules, a health examination will not be required to get a visa. Also, there is no longer any obligation for women to have a male guardian.
