2022 review: 7m pilgrims facilitated in Saudi Arabia for Umrah

Dhaka: Saudi Arabia offered services to seven million Umrah pilgrims from around the world in 2022.

Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah allowed people with tourist visas to perform Umrah during their stay in the country for the first time in 2022.

The ministry also released 13 awareness guides, including Umrah comprehensive guide, for pilgrims in 14 different languages that facilitated pilgrims of all religious, medical, and procedural information before their arrival in the country.

Citizens of 49 countries, who applied for tourist visas online and upon their arrival at airports, were also facilitated with service.

It also facilitated pilgrims with all types of visas – instant visa on arrival, family visa, personal visa, and Schengen, UK and US visa holders, which were all issued electronically.

Besides, the Umrah visa had been extended from 30 to 90 days.

The ministry launched “Nusuk platform,” which includes 121 services to book and design the Umrah programme and issue visas electronically to all countries.

This platform has allowed five countries – Bangladesh, the UK, Tunisia, Malaysia, and Kuwait – for the quick issuance of online visas through the Saudi Visa Bio smartphone application of the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

A comprehensive insurance service for the pilgrims was also launched in 2022 to cover the health emergencies, accidents and cancelling or delaying flights.