Saudi Arabia: GCC residents can now perform Umrah year-round

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that residents of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries can perform the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah, at any time of the year.

Al Arabiya reports that several options are available for organising Umrah. Pilgrims can purchase packages through the official Nusuk platform, the kingdom’s digital gateway for pilgrimage services, or apply for a visa via accredited visa centres.

أداء العمرة للمقيمين في دول الخليج، متاح عبر خيارات متعددة تتيح له رحلة إيمانية ميسَّرة وتجربة لا تُنسى.#مكة_والمدينة_في_انتظاركم_بشوق pic.twitter.com/ymaSl5lpLy

— وزارة الحج والعمرة (@HajMinistry) December 16, 2024

For travellers transiting through Saudi Arabia on Saudia Airlines or Flynas, a transit visa can be obtained, allowing them to perform Umrah during stopovers. Additionally, tourists can apply for an e-visa through the electronic visa platform, enabling them to perform Umrah and visit holy sites across the country.

The ministry emphasised that all visitors must secure an Umrah permit through the Nusuk app before arriving at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Al Rawda Al Sharifa located in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.

Last month the ministry clarified that GCC residents will have simplified options for visiting the Holy Mosque to perform Umrah.

The latest announcement comes as some 15 million Muslims will have visited Al Rawda Al Sharifa, in Islam’s second holiest mosque in Madinah, by the year’s end, according to Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al Rabiah. “This is due to the success of the developed Nusuk app that has contributed to bringing about a leap in improving the services provided for the pilgrims,” he told Saudi TV Al Ekhbariya.

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