Recently they had been few cases brought to my attention about people being refused entry to Saudi because ground staff miss-interpreted the validity of their visas. This has also happened even with people reading their visa and assuming they will have 30 days in the country or getting confused on when their visa expires.
Since I always try to make sure we get the most up to date and accurate information on Umrah visas and Umrah, in general, I asked the experts to tell me how you can read your Umrah visa.
I have asked Prince Visa to clarify exactly how many days you can have in Saudi and when you have to leave in order to make sure that your visa is not expired. You don’t want to be going to the airport and missing it all.
One more thing I would like to note is the fact that many try to “play the system” and either book or extend their stay above the norm. I don’t support and never encourage such things because at the end the Saudi government will make the rules stricter and it will affect everyone. Play by the rules so we all can enjoy a great Umrah!
Although there are various interpretations in the market with regards to when one should enter and how long can one actually stay, there are no real published guidelines by the embassy on the matter. Even if you call you will get mixed information, so it is always best to stick with those who have experience in the matter.
How long is the visa valid for?
30 Days
How long can I stay?
14 days
How long do I have to enter KSA from the date of issuance?
Although the visa states 30 days, it is advisable to enter within 28 days as we are considering the Islamic calendar and not the Georgian calendar.
How long can I stay from the date that I enter?
14 days maximum from the date of entry.
My visa says 30 days of stay is allowed.. why do you say 14?
That is correct but you cannot stay more than 14 days without violating of Umrah rules.
You allow a 30 day stay in Ramadhan..why?
No, we don’t. Logistically it’s impossible to implement the rule and therefore a blind eye is taken to it but the rule remains the same in Ramadhan too. It’s just understood by the sponsors and the Ministry that this rule won’t be followed due to various factors and therefore one is not penalised for it.
Can I enter on the last day of validity of my visa and stay another 15 days?
We recommend that you enter within 28 days of the validity of your visa and stay a maximum of 14 days to be safe.
What are the penalties for overstaying the 15 days?
No penalties are levied by the Ministry of Hajj but your Umrah sponsor can fine your UK agent.
What if I stay more than 30 days?
You are liable to a fine of more than 10000 SAR and will be blacklisted.
Has anyone ever been backlisted?
Many people are facing difficulty in travelling back because they stayed 31 or 32 days in the kingdom. When applying for their approvals, we get a message.
Yes, it’s great to outsmart the system but at the end they will catch up and change the rules. You don’t want to be blacklisted and never able to go to the house of Allah again. We don’t want to make it harder for people to go for Umrah just because of a minority.
I don’t entertain the requests when I am asked if you can simply cancel your hotel and stay in the masjid. This is the reason why now they need non-refundable hotels and flights.
So be nice and enjoy Umrah insha’Allah (God willing).
Shazia says
Salam sis
Do you know how the actual visa process works? What exactly do the agents do? Our agent has said the visas are intentionally only released a few days before departure.
Great blog, Alhamdullah we have booked a DIY umrah! Will let you know how it goes inshAllah.
Muslim Travel Girl says
Salams Shazia,
The agent are the one that submit the paperwork to the Embassy. I never had the issue of being released too late or early usually 2-3 weeks before travel. I always apply about a month or so in advance. Also you can’t apply any sooner because the visa is valid for 30days from issue.
Farhana says
As salaamu alaykum
Just want to clarify …you don’t have to enter and exit within 30 days of the issuance…you only have to enter within 28 -30 days of issuance and then you can stay 14 days.
eg if my visa is issued Dec 1 – I can comfortably enter on Dec 24, just as long as I’m in before Dec 28?
Muslim Travel Girl says
Yes! Just note that there were issues with some check in agents who didn’t know the rule.
PinkRuby says
Salaam,
Thank you for explaining how one needs to the read an umrah visa.
We are planning to go an umrah on the 25th of April. Our visa came out and we were given 15days validy only, i.e we have to enter within 15days of issuance, instead of the usual 30days. As per our research, there has been an amendment to the law on the 18th of March where only 15days are being given now. Our visas were issues on the 3rd of April, which means that our visa would have expired even before our travel dates.
Would you know if we can get the dates changed on our visas? We planned our trip on our own and only used an agent for the visas.
Thanks for your help.
Muslim Travel Girl says
Sadly your agent should have checked the dates on your passport to provide the correct visa. You can’t amend the visa dates you have to apply again. Does on your visa day 15 days or 30 days validity? The validity is usually the stay in the country which is only 15 days. So its easy to mix up.